The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, began his official visit to Costa Rica. He was welcomed by Costa Ricans who shouted “We love you, Bukele!” as he made his way to the Presidential House. He acknowledged the help of God and the Salvadoran people in putting an end to crime and insecurity in El Salvador.
“Policemen, soldiers, people who have been ministers, the government’s security cabinet, deputies, judges, prosecutors who have been behind this operation, who have continued working to make El Salvador even safer,” he said.
Nayib Bukele spoke about crime reduction and security issues and explained that the Salvadoran state must intervene to guarantee the rights of “the people who are never defended.”
“The most important human right is the right to life. All other rights are useless without the right to life or cannot be applied. I cannot have the right to mobility if I am dead. So, the Salvadoran state must guarantee the right to life of its citizens, and for that, it must go after the criminals—there is no other way,” he said.
He also stated that to solve the issue of insecurity facing Costa Rica, society as a whole must work together. Bukele explained that in El Salvador, many gang members went free despite the police doing their job.
“It was impossible to make progress if the whole society did not decide to support the complete plan. And the complete plan does not only mean catching the criminal, but also ensuring that the criminal stays in jail. Some people said we were violating the human rights of the criminals. No, all criminals have rights—there is not a single criminal in this world who does not have rights, because they are human. No one is arguing that,” he said.
President Bukele said that, in the past, no one defended people from the barbaric acts committed by criminals. “People came out to defend the rights of criminals, because they have rights, yes, but not more rights than others. So we did what we had to do,” he added.
The Salvadoran president pointed out the advantages that Costa Rica has over other countries in the region. He said that they should learn from the country, as Costa Rica is a “jewel in Latin America,” noting that the country has been ahead “in many things, not just now, but for a long time—in education, health, tourism, and biodiversity.”
He also confirmed El Salvador will donate food and medical supplies to those affected by the heavy rains.
