Chapter 117: Pulverized

436      “If we wanted to push the button” . . . ”we just push the button” Bukele quoted in Carlos Martínez, “‘Now I Think It’s Very Clear Who’s in Control of the Situation,’” El Faro, February 10, 2020, elfaro.net/es/202002/el_salvador/24006/“Ahora-creo-que-está-muy-claro-quién-tiene-el-control-de-la-situación”.htm. To watch Bukele’s return to the crowd, see El Salvador 2020, “Histórico.!!! Feb. 9/20 Concentración del Pueblo en Asamblea. Discurso Completo Presidente Bukele,” YouTube, February 15, 2020, youtu.be/i3-8ZXqqH4g?si=ck8AbRzr2NIyvsPv, 51:35–57:25.

436      “But I asked God and God told me . . .” Bukele quoted in Martínez, Now I Think It’s Very Clear Who’s in Control of the Situation,’” elfaro.net/es/202002/el_salvador/24006/“Ahora-creo-que-está-muy-claro-quién-tiene-el-control-de-la-situación”.htm.

436      “Patience!” Bukele quoted in Martínez, “‘Now I Think It’s Very Clear Who’s in Control of the Situation,’” elfaro.net/es/202002/el_salvador/24006/“Ahora-creo-que-está-muy-claro-quién-tiene-el-control-de-la-situación”.htm.

436      “On February 28 all these scoundrels . . .” Bukele quoted in Martínez, “‘Now I Think It’s Very Clear Who’s in Control of the Situation,’”  elfaro.net/es/202002/el_salvador/24006/“Ahora-creo-que-está-muy-claro-quién-tiene-el-control-de-la-situación”.htm.

436      scheduled for a year later, on February 28, 2021 “Voters Go to the Polls in El Salvador,” Al Jazeera, February 28, 2021, www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/28/voters-go-to-the-polls-el-salvador-elections. 

436      censured Bukele Anna-Catherine Brigida and Mary Beth Sheridan, “Showdown in El Salvador Shows Growing Role of Military in Latin American Democracies,” Washington Post, February 11, 2020,” wapo.st/3S6jh3r. 

436      ruled . . . neither use the military . .  nor call for . . . Marcos Alemán, “El Salvador’s Bukele Says He’ll Obey High Court on Military,” Associated Press (AP) News, February 11, 2020, apnews.com/general-news-c0374df359b03835ea0ce07d0a47d973. 

436      “obey the order” Nayib Bukele statement quoted in Alemán, “El Salvador’s Bukele Says He’ll Obey High Court on Military,” apnews.com/general-news-c0374df359b03835ea0ce07d0a47d973. 

437       activated to brand . . . as the defender of Salvadorans against the gangs Bukele made this accusation during his speech before the 2020 uprising. He also accused the opposition of a false flag operation when a shooter killed attendees of an FMLN rally in January 2021. Martínez, “‘Now I Think It’s Very Clear Who’s in Control of the Situation,’” elfaro.net/es/202002/el_salvador/24006/“Ahora-creo-que-está-muy-claro-quién-tiene-el-control-de-la-situación”.htm; Tim Muth, “Political Violence Erupts in San Salvador,” El Salvador Perspectives, January 31, 2021, www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2021/01/political-violence-erupts-in-san.html. On Bukele’s social media strategy, see Sarah Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” Reuters, November 29, 2022, www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/; and Jane Esberg, “All the President’s Trolls: Real and Fake Twitter Fights in El Salvador,” commentary, International Crisis Group, July 13, 2020, www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/el-salvador/all-presidents-trolls-real-and-fake-twitter-fights-el-salvador.

437       accumulated fifty-four out of eighty-four seats “US Concerned over Removal of Top Salvadorean Judges,” BBC, May 3, 2021, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56970026. 

437       approved the $109 million loan Latin America News, “El Salvador’s Parliament Approves Controversial Loan for Security Plan,” Rio Times, May 12, 2021, www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/mercosur/central-america/el-salvadors-parliament-approves-controversial-loan-for-security-plan/. 

437       removed the attorney general, who had been investigating . . . “US Concerned over Removal of Top Salvadorean Judges, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56970026; and Christopher Sherman, “U.S. Treasury: El Salvador Government Negotiated with Gangs,” AP News, December 8, 2021, apnews.com/article/nayib-bukele-el-salvador-gangs-c378285a36d55c18f741c3f65892f801. 

437       ejected all five Supreme Court judges “US Concerned over Removal of Top Salvadorean Judges,”www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56970026. 

437       appointed loyalists “US Concerned over Removal of Top Salvadorean Judges,” www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56970026. 

437       killed sixty-two Salvadorans Human Rights Watch, “El Salvador: Sweeping New Laws Endanger Rights,” April 8, 2022, www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/08/el-salvador-sweeping-new-laws-endanger-rights. 

437       declared a national “state of emergency” Human Rights Watch, “El Salvador: Sweeping New Laws Endanger Rights,” www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/08/el-salvador-sweeping-new-laws-endanger-rights. 

437       reproducing or transmitting . . . by gangs that could “generate a state . . .” El Salvador law passed April 5, 2022, quoted in “El Salvador: Sweeping New Laws Endanger Rights,” www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/08/el-salvador-sweeping-new-laws-endanger-rights. 

437       imprisonment for up to fifteen years El Salvador law passed March 30, 2022, quoted in “El Salvador: Sweeping New Laws Endanger Rights,” www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/08/el-salvador-sweeping-new-laws-endanger-rights. 

437       prescribed heavier punishments . . . “terrorist group,” as broadly defined . . . “El Salvador: Sweeping New Laws Endanger Rights,” www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/08/el-salvador-sweeping-new-laws-endanger-rights. 

437       suspended Salvadorans’ constitutional rights to . . . Human Rights Watch, “El Salvador: Sweeping New Laws Endanger Rights,” www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/08/el-salvador-sweeping-new-laws-endanger-rights. 

437       largest prison in Latin America . . . confine more than a hundred . . . in a single cell Marcos Alemán and Salvador Meléndez, “El Salvador Bets Safety on Incarceration; Unveils New Prison,” AP News, February 3, 2023, apnews.com/article/politics-crime-caribbean-nayib-bukele-el-salvador-7bcd686097e9e22a0fbf0e3abe2e3e13. 

437       By 2024 . . . one in every fifty-seven Salvadoran citizens Vera Bergengruen, “How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador,” Time, August 29, 2024, time.com/7015598/nayib-bukeles-iron-fist-el-salvador/. 

437       the highest incarceration rate in the world Zack Beauchamp, “Meet the MAGA Movement’s New Favorite Autocrat,”Vox, April 8, 2023, www.vox.com/2023/4/8/23653324/nayib-bukele-trump-american-right-crime; Bergengruen, “How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador,” time.com/7015598/nayib-bukeles-iron-fist-el-salvador/. 

437       unmistakably targeted everyone not powering . . .“El Salvador: Sweeping New Laws Endanger Rights,” www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/08/el-salvador-sweeping-new-laws-endanger-rights. 

438      “gang members’ partners” Nayib Bukele, Twitter, April 3, 2022, 8:22 p.m., x.com/nayibbukele/status/1510774785227296786, archived at archive.today, February 10, 2026 capture, archive.ph/wip/g4XFq, via Google Translate.

438      had literally partnered with the gangs By December 2021, there was audio evidence of Bukele’s administration negotiating with gangs (with financial benefits and privileges for imprisoned leaders) in order to decrease the country’s homicide rates and to get political support from the gangs ahead of elections. Sherman, “U.S. Treasury: El Salvador Government Negotiated with Gangs,”, apnews.com/article/nayib-bukele-el-salvador-gangs-c378285a36d55c18f741c3f65892f801. 

438      fled El Salvador Megan Janetsky, Associated Press, “New Wave of Political Exiles Say El Salvador’s History Is Repeating Itself,” PBS, July 23, 2025, www.pbs.org/newshour/world/new-wave-of-political-exiles-say-el-salvadors-history-is-repeating-itself.   

438      one journalist was expelled Paulina Villegas, “El Salvador Expels Prominent Mexican Journalist, Draws Sharp Criticism from Human Rights Groups,” Washington Post, July 9, 2021 www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/09/bukele-expels-editor-from-el-faro/. 

438      have been harassed Janetsky, “New Wave of Political Exiles Say El Salvador’s History Is Repeating Itself,” www.pbs.org/newshour/world/new-wave-of-political-exiles-say-el-salvadors-history-is-repeating-itself.   

438      hacked with spyware technology purchased from Israel Isabel Rikkers and Noelle Brigden, “Christian Zionism in Bukele’s El Salvador,” North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA), October 9, 2024,  nacla.org/christian-zionism-bukeles-el-salvador; and Jimmy Alvarado, “The Government Bought $2.2 Million in Spy Equipment from a Company Belonging to Bukele’s Israeli Friend.” El Faro, January 30, 2023, elfaro.net/es/202301/el_salvador/26687/Gobierno-compr%C3%B3-$22-millones-en-equipo-de-espionaje-a-empresa-de-amigo-israel%C3%AD-de-Bukele.htm, via Google Translate.

438      have seen drones fly over their homes Villegas, “El Salvador Expels Prominent Mexican Journalist, Draws Sharp Criticism from Human Rights Groups,” www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/09/bukele-expels-editor-from-el-faro/. 

438      Nearly two-thirds . . . fear negative consequences if they publicly express . . . Bergengruen, “How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador,” time.com/7015598/nayib-bukeles-iron-fist-el-salvador/. 

438      “pulverized” organized opposition to his rule Nayib Bukele quoted in Megan Janetsky, “El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele Takes Aim at Critics in Looking Ahead to 2nd Presidential Term,” AP News, February 5, 2024, apnews.com/article/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-president-reelection-ef04e20d901908099f4f787b841aca89. See also Vera Bergengruen, “Read the Full Transcript of President Nayib Bukele’s Interview With Time,” Time, August 29, 2024, time.com/7015636/president-nayib-bukele-interview/. 

438      “mercenaries” Nayib Bukele, Twitter, September 27, 2020, 1:27 a.m., x.com/nayibbukele/status/1310088770381918210?s=2, archived at archive.today, February 10, 2026 capture, archive.ph/wip/Sj2Z2, via Google Translate.

438      “fake news” Nayib Bukele, Twitter, May 3, 2020, 7:49 p.m., x.com/nayibbukele/status/1257094989391245320, archived at archive.today, February 10, 2026 capture, archive.ph/wip/bw94v. 

438      caused . . . to distrust news organizations Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/.

438      after Bukele’s legislators passed a law eliminating their tax exemptions for . . .“2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: El Salvador,” U.S. Department of State, April 12, 2022, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/313615_EL-SALVADOR-2021-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf, 14; and AFP, “El Salvador Congress Removes Tax Break for Newspapers,” Radio France Internationale (RFI), May 5, 2021, www.rfi.fr/en/business-and-tech/20210505-el-salvador-congress-removes-tax-break-for-newspapers. 

438      funneled public funds to state-run propaganda firms . . . Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/; and “The Nuevas Ideas-Infested Newspaper Received $7.4 million in Public Funds,” El Salvador Now, July 29, 2023, www.elsalvadornow.org/2023/07/29/the-nuevas-ideas-infested-newspaper-received-7-4-million-in-public-funds-el-diario-infestado-de-nuevas-ideas-recibio-7-4-millones-de-dinero-publico, via Google Translate.

438      started trusting these state-run mouthpieces “2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: El Salvador,” U.S. Department of State, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/313615_EL-SALVADOR-2021-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf, 14-15; Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/.

438      explicitly barred presidents from running for reelection “El Salvador Confirms Bukele’s Supermajority After Opposition Calls to Void Election Results,” Reuters, February 19, 2024, www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-opposition-requests-repeat-election-congress-after-irregularities-2024-02-19/. 

438      ruled he could run for reelection Beauchamp, “Meet the MAGA Movement’s New Favorite Autocrat,” www.vox.com/2023/4/8/23653324/nayib-bukele-trump-american-right-crime; and “El Salvador Confirms Bukele’s Supermajority After Opposition Calls to Void Election Results,” www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-opposition-requests-repeat-election-congress-after-irregularities-2024-02-19/. 

438      the longest-serving electoral dictator in Europe “Putin Describes Russia-El Salvador Ties as Successful,” Prensa Latina,February 13, 2024, www.plenglish.com/news/2024/02/13/putin-describes-russia-el-salvador-ties-as-successful/.