El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele’s tough-on-crime approach is once again in the spotlight after a gang killed a member of the national police.
On Tuesday, the national police of El Salvador announced on Twitter that one of their members had been killed in Nueva Concepción and that a massive manhunt was underway for those involved.
“We regret to report the death of one of our agents in Nueva Concepción, Chalatenango, who was attacked by gang members while on patrol with other police officers,” the translation of the tweet read. “1 terrorist was captured at the scene. We execute an operation to find the other responsible parties.”
Lamentamos reportar la muerte de uno de nuestros agentes en Nueva Concepción, Chalatenango, quien fue atacado por pandilleros mientras patrullaba con otros policías.
1 terrorista fue capturado en el lugar.
Ejecutamos operativo para dar con los otros responsables.
— PNC El Salvador (@PNCSV) May 16, 2023
Meanwhile, President Bukele responded to the incident in a manner befitting his strong stance taken on the country’s crime problem.
“Starting this morning, we established a security fence around the municipality of Nueva Concepción, Chalatenango, with more than 5,000 elements of the @FUERZARMADASV and 500 of the @PNCSV, in search of those responsible for the homicide and the entire gang structure and collaborators who are still hiding in that place,” a translation of his Wednesday tweet read. “They will pay dearly for the murder of our hero.”
Ante el homicidio ocurrido ayer, de un agente de nuestra @PNCSV, por parte de pandilleros que aún se encuentran en algunos sectores de nuestro país, escondidos, huyendo del Régimen de Excepción…
Desde esta madrugada, establecimos un cerco de seguridad alrededor del municipio de… pic.twitter.com/6r8BxuLBDb
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 17, 2023
Now, true to his word, 5,000 soldiers have surrounded the town of Nueva Concepción, and a further 500 auxiliary police have come to track down the criminals who killed the policeman.
Nuestros soldados continúan patrullando la zona de Nueva Concepción, Chalatenango, en la búsqueda de terroristas que pretendan huir de la justicia.
Ni un paso atrás en la #GuerraContraPandillas. pic.twitter.com/uJ5ykV9bVQ
— FUERZA ARMADA (@FUERZARMADASV) May 19, 2023
President Bukele is well-known for his tough-on-crime policies that have done immense good for the people of El Salvador. He has been especially efficient at dealing with the notorious MS-13 gang, with videos showing captured criminals being herded into maximum security prisons.
Hoy en la madrugada, en un solo operativo, trasladamos a los primeros 2,000 pandilleros al Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT).
Esta será su nueva casa, donde vivirán por décadas, mezclados, sin poder hacerle más daño a la población.
Seguimos…#GuerraContraPandillas pic.twitter.com/9VvsUBvoHC
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 24, 2023
As for the results of his crackdown on crime, he has turned El Salvador from one of the most dangerous nations in the world to one of the safest in Central America. On his watch, crime has reduced by 85% since this time last year.
His actions in Nueva Concepción are another reminder that Bukele does not intend to stop until every single criminal in El Salvador is behind bars.
Meanwhile, our leftist leaders in the United States should learn from Bukele. Instead of cracking down on violent criminals, many American leaders have taken a soft-on-crime approach in the name of leftist ideology.
Naturally, this refusal to enforce the laws has led to a massive increase in crime across the United States.
Frankly, it’s not hard to see how Bukele was able to take a violent nation and drastically reduce his crime rate: He simply enforced the law and scared away other criminals who were breaking the law.
If the leaders of the United States would follow his lead, we would have a much safer country.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
