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El Salvador President and Trump Ally Bukele Accused of Cutting Deals With MS-13 Gang Members Using U.S. Aid
EL SALVADOR, JUN 12 – A ProPublica investigation finds Bukele's officials obstructed U.S. extraditions of MS-13 leaders amid allegations of a secret pact involving diverted U.S. aid and political support.
- Nayib Bukele assumed the presidency of El Salvador in early 2019 and implemented a nationwide state of emergency in March 2022, suspending certain constitutional rights in response to a surge in gang-related violence.
- The Trump administration created Joint Task Force Vulcan in 2019 to dismantle MS-13’s leadership, but Bukele’s government blocked extraditions and allegedly negotiated secret pacts with gang leaders.
- Investigations revealed Bukele’s aides arranged clandestine prison visits, diverted U.S. aid funds to MS-13, and offered gang leaders political power and incentives to reduce murders and support his party.
- Early in 2023, U.S. authorities charged 13 MS-13 figures with terrorism and drug trafficking offenses and indicated intentions to pursue their extradition from El Salvador, despite President Bukele’s continued refusal to comply.
- Bukele’s crackdown lowered murder rates and imprisoned tens of thousands, but drew criticism for civil liberties losses and obstructed U.S. prosecutions by impeding senior gang leaders’ extraditions.
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Top Bukele aides blocked U.S. extraditions of MS-13 leaders, ProPublica reports
Top Bukele aides blocked U.S. extraditions of MS-13 leaders, ProPublica reports New reporting from ProPublica finds Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's top aides blocked the extraditions of MS-13 leaders to the U.S. because his allies allegedly believed those gang members could be witnesses in a…
Elected in 2019, the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, delivered the population from the claws of armed gangs, weakening democracy and sacrificing the passage of individual freedoms. Was the game worth it? The Devoir went to El Salvador to find out. Here, some photographs of our photographer that illustrate life in this Central American country.
·Montreal, Canada
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Total News Sources17
Leaning Left9Leaning Right1Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution75% Left
Bias Distribution
- 75% of the sources lean Left
75% Left
L 75%
C 17%
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