The combative president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has become a key partner for the provocative migrant deportation policy of his American counterpart Donald Trump, from which both leaders hope to gain political benefits. Through a series of skillfully produced videos, featuring tattooed and chained men disembarking from planes amid heavy surveillance, Nayib Bukele has earned the attention and admiration of the American president.
“Thank you, President Bukele, of El Salvador, for taking back the criminals that Joe Biden’s dishonest administration so stupidly allowed into our country and giving them such a wonderful place to live!” Trump posted this Monday on his TruthSocial platform. The president accompanied the message with the latest video published by Bukele, images with a strong staging, highly militaristic and confrontational, of migrants arriving in the Central American country.
Bukele’s response, at 43 years old, was quick to follow: “Grateful for your words, President Trump. Moving forward together!” he posted. To strengthen the relationship, both will meet at the White House this month, where Bukele promised to bring “several cans of Diet Coke” for his host, who is always thirsty for soda. But behind this tough-guy camaraderie lies pure, hard politics.
For Bukele, accepting hundreds of deportees from the United States helps him “consolidate his image as a leader who transforms security in El Salvador,” noted Migration Policy Institute analyst Diego Chaves-González.
Anti-Gang War
Since coming to power in 2019, Bukele has subdued the nation of six million people, formerly immersed in gang violence. Through judicial orders and procedures, he has imprisoned almost 2% of the population and reduced the murder rate from more than 6,500 annually to only 114, according to official data.
Security is the cornerstone of the “iron fist” policy that has made Bukele one of the most popular politicians in the world, with an approval rating of more than 85% in his country. Accepting Trump’s deportees in El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison not only made Bukele become a friend in the White House but has also allowed him to show off the penitentiary center, with capacity for 40,000 prisoners.
The videos disseminated by Bukele’s government highlight the austere concrete walls and the guards who watch over the facilities, with their faces covered. The United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, even visited CECOT, posing in front of a cell with heavily tattooed men.
Propaganda
For some analysts, the most important aspect is the brutality of these images. Both Bukele and Trump have shared images of chained, shaved, and handcuffed prisoners, and have rejected protests from judges and opponents. In this sense, Trump seems to echo Bukele’s political imagery to capture the attention of his own voters.
“This is a sign that Trump is interested in ‘iron fist’ propaganda and disobedience of judicial rulings,” indicated Salvadoran analyst Napoleón Campos. But this hardline approach has its risks, and the White House was forced to admit on Tuesday that, due to an “administrative error,” a Salvadoran living in the United States under legal protection was caught up in the deportation process and sent to Bukele’s prison.
And still, a recent CBS poll showed that 53% of voters, and an overwhelming majority of Republicans, support Trump’s immigration policy; greater support than he receives on economic matters. Beyond the political gain for both, there is a potential economic and security benefit for Bukele.
His government received six million dollars for taking care of the deportees, a “very low fee” for Washington but “very high” for El Salvador, according to Bukele. He also received more than twenty alleged high-ranking members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang, who were detained in the United States.
Bukele claimed this would help “conclude intelligence gathering and pursue the last remnants of MS-13, including their former and new members, money, weapons, drugs, hideouts, collaborators and sponsors.” Additionally, the United States promised to invest in El Salvador, a country with a per capita income comparable to that of Iraq or war-ravaged Ukraine.
In his visit to the White House this month, Bukele will probably expect more than beautiful words in exchange for his support of President Trump.
