Fighting Crime and Preserving Democracy in Latin America

SAN JOSE (AP) — Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves said Friday that his country is moving forward with an “alliance” with the government of El Salvador toward the construction of a new prison for 5,000 inmates.

Carlos Cartagena, known as Charli, is one of the leaders of the Barrio 18 Revolutionary gang in El Salvador.Charli became known as the main face of his organization in the miniseries Eighteen with a bullet, produced by BBC 20 years ago.On May 1, the digital newspaper El Faro, one of the most important independent media outlets in Latin America, published the first video interview of the gang member, in which he recounts the agreements that would…

In an unprecedented 41-minute interview with the digital media El Faro, Carlos Cartagena López, alias “Charli de IVU” – one of the most recognized leaders of the guerrilla faction Revolutionary Barrio 18 – revealed details about the secret pacts between the gangs and the government of President Nayib Bukele. READ ALSO:Families of Venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador demand their immediate release According to Cartagena, this relationship …

While thousands of innocent people remain in inhumane conditions in El Salvador's prisons, one of the most recognized gang leaders in the Central American country, Carlos Cartagena López, alias Charli of IVU, was secretly released by the government of President Nayib Bukele and has offered an interview showing his face and telling details about his pacts to the digital media El Faro.

The President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele, joined the trends on social networks after publishing a message with the phrase “Fear of what?”. This message has been used and viralized with the song named “Broken”, in which Internet users use melancholy music to show harsh contrasts when gangs dominated El Salvador. Fear of what? pic.twitter.com/KGkOJ654UH— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 4, 2025 Users have used it to report abuses suffered by the…

Salvadorans are using TikTok’s viral audio entitled “Broken” to express that they no longer feel fear of gangs that have spread terror in their communities for years. Under the phrase “Fear of what?”, users share personal experiences marked by the actions of these criminal groups, showing how they were victims of extortion, threats or even family losses. The publications, many of them loaded with strong emotions, relate how the fear that once pa…