At the Republican National Convention, former US President and presidential candidate for the November 5, 2024 elections, Donald Trumplaunched strong criticism towards the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele.
Trump accused Bukele of sending criminals to the United States as part of his strategy to reduce crime in El Salvador.
Without offering official data to confirm his statements, Trump assured that the reduction in crime in El Salvador is due to the migration of criminal gangs to the United Statesparticularly members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13).
“Murders in El Salvador are down 70%. Why are they down? He (Nayib Bukele) will convince you that it’s because they train assassins to become good people, but no. They’re down because they send their assassins to the United States!” Trump said.
The Republican candidate promised that, if elected, he will take drastic measures against the illegal immigration of criminals and launch the largest deportation program in the history of the country.
“Terrible things could happen because of this illegal migration of members of organized crime to the United States,” the Republican candidate insisted.
Trump recalled that during his time in office, he expelled several members of the Mara gang, and said that he achieved this despite initial resistance from the criminals’ countries of origin.
“I got thousands and thousands out of them in my four years. We got them out of the country, other countries didn’t accept them and I told them: ‘Tell them that they will no longer receive economic assistance’ and the day after all these presidents called me,” he explained.
The Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukeleresponded to Trump’s statements with a brief message, highlighting that El Salvador is “taking the right path.”
Bukele and his government team defend their security performance, highlighting the reduction of immigration to the United States.
The Salvadoran government claims to have captured more than 81,000 people linked to gangs, with almost 108,000 people currently deprived of liberty in the country and many of them incorporated into re-education programs in prisons.
Trump also included Venezuela and Cuba among the countries from which many illegal migrants come, contributing, according to him, to the increase in crime in the United States.
Regarding Cuba, he mentioned the presence of a Russian submarine on the island a few weeks ago, which he considered a direct threat to the United States. “Russia has nuclear submarines and warships within 60 miles from Miami,” he said.
Trump’s statements about Bukele and the arrival of migrants to the United States have generated controversy, while both leaders defend their respective security and migration policies.
