THE HIGH PRICE OF SAFETY IN EL SALVADOR

By Megan K. Stack – Ms. Stack, a contributing Opinion writer, reported from Apopa, El Salvador.

Aug. 29, 2024 – Nöe del Cid watched his neighborhood come back to life from the seat of his wheelchair.

This tight row of cinder-block houses with barred windows and corrugated metal roofs formed, for much of Mr. del Cid’s life, a precarious border zone between enemy gangs. Bullet scars are still visible, chipped into the walls of houses and staining the flesh of residents like Mr. del Cid, who was partially paralyzed in 2003 by a gunshot to the neck.

In the two years since President Nayib Bukele unleashed his brutal crackdown on El Salvador’s gangs, most of the gangsters who once lorded over the neighborhood have been imprisoned, fled or gone into hiding, Mr. del Cid said.

Children in Apopa were once forced to trek through dense forests to escape gang violence on their way to and from school. They can now walk freely on the streets.

Earlier this summer, thanks to a free ride on a bus sent by the government, Mr. del Cid and his neighbors joined the adoring crowd outside the National Palace to witness Mr. Bukele’s inauguration. This second term is both legally indefensible (El Salvador’s Constitution bans consecutive re-election) and, like the president himself, wildly popular (he won by a landslide). Mr. Bukele took the occasion to warn people not to complain about the “bitter medicine” coming their way. This is one of his favorite catchphrases — and he means it.

WUNRN

Opinion | The High Price of Safety in El Salvador – The New York Times (nytimes.com)