Reiomar Ocasio

Eng 1121

Professor Rosen

April 2nd, 2023

Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez, the current president of El Salvador leaves us to question is he the “coolest dictator” as shown by his actions or an unjust one? The Dictator of El Salvador is facing backlash for his recent actions against the fight to solve crime issues in El Salvador by the United States of America. However the citizens of El Salvador dont see his actions as cruel, but see him as the savior they need in order to bring crime rates down. I believe that his method is the correct plan in order to help solve major gang and crime issues plaguing the streets of El Salvador.  

When a person decides to take away another person’s human rights that person should also have their rights revoked. The dictator has arrested 2% of the world’s population due to actions of gang violence. Gang members have been disturbing the peace of El Salvador for far too long, and it was time for a change.The gang members have been extorting, killing, and robbing innocent people for years and it was time to stop. The dictator built a massive prison to lock away all these gang members and have given them no reason as to why they are locked up, they also have no rights to a lawyer. This creates controversy to the dictator as seen discussed in the United States, however the people have been heard, and they feel like this is the right thing to do. According to “El Salvador: The coolest dictator in the world? | ARTE.tv Documentary” they were interviewing a man and he said “Life was hard, many of the friends i grew up with ended up getting killed. Some in our community have been shot at, stabbed or beaten up.” The citizens of El Salvador were and still are facing a crisis and this new enforcement has made living in El Salvador a whole lot better. However there have been some cases where innocent citizens have been caught up in the indictment. In Channel 4 news “El Salvador drug gangs face ‘world’s coolest dictator’ as innocent suffer in crackdown” a woman explains “They took my son from my house like the majority of people here, hundreds and hundreds are only civilians, they’re working people who are honest.” How the crime rate has drastically dropped in El Salvador due to many getting arrested, some dont deserve to be taken away. However sacrifices should be made for the better good. With the current state of El Salvador and the crime rate dropping, the president’s action shows that change is happening even despite some of the downfalls that the new regiment is causing.   

Now imagine in New York City all gang members are stripped of their rights and sent to jail, would that be beneficial or cause riot? My borough, the Bronx, is heavily filled with gang members, people who rob innocents, people who cause violence in the streets. My own mother has been robbed with a knife against her. My father who has witnessed many things growing up hanging around the streets. These gang members in NYC are just a fragment of EL salvador’s gang members so I believe if the crime rate is going down and people are feeling safe to live their life without fear then the dictator is doing the right thing. Also how he is pushing the agenda to only benefit the people of El Savador makes it seem like he is doing the right thing, which he is. The people of El Savador knew the president was gonna be different and he was and now it grants the citizens more freedom. Another thing to add is that president Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez was an outsider when he was coming up in the election, he took charge in the fight against crime and wanted to make sure that the citizens of El Salvador felt safe in their day to day lives. Safety is a big talking point not only in El Salvador but in multiple cities and countries around the world.

The President of El Salvador is taking drastic, but much needed changes in order to make his country feel safe. Even though there might be backlash with the intensity of the changes, El salvador is changing for the better. Me growing up in New York and having to witness gang violence and rising crime. I can appreciate the effort to change regardless of the backlash. The current fight to make our streets safer is definitely not over and i think everyone could learn something new by opening up the discussion with president Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez and his actions towards keeping El Salvador safe.