Real leadership with results is rewarded. This weekend President Nayib Bukele was overwhelmingly reelected and inaugurated for a second term. His main accomplishment: controlling crime and getting gang violence under control. This is no small feat but Bukele showed it can be done.
As crime is increasing in the United States there are lessons American leaders can learn from this small Central American country.
Just a few short years ago, Salvadoran shopkeepers were paying weekly “protection” to gang members, just so they could keep their businesses open without being harassed. Before Bukele came into power, El Salvador had been plagued by rampant gang violence, extortion and organized crime. All of this created a pervasive atmosphere of fear and instability among the Salvadoran people and it also meant that very little foreign investment or tourism came into the country.
The tide started to change once the people of El Salvador elected President Nayib Bukele in 2019. Bukele’s first order of business was to declare war on the gangs that were destroying his country. Gone were the days when public transportation companies had to pay the gangs to keep their buses safe from being lit on fire.
One of the central pillars of Bukele’s strategy has been the deployment of military and police forces to key areas with high crime rates. This has resulted in about 75,000 gang members being locked up.
Imagine if our leaders had done the same when our cities were being lit on fire by BLM.
In addition to placing more police on the streets, those who commit crimes have been held accountable and taken off the streets. This is a common-sense approach. If someone commits a crime or is endangering their fellow citizens, they should be taken off the streets. Why can’t America do this
Since Bukele took office, there has been a noticeable decrease in the violent crime rates across El Salvador. Homicide rates have declined significantly. In 2015, the homicide rate was 103 per 100,000 inhabitants. In 2023, it fell to just 2.4 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
For this reason, the world and many in the conservative movement in America took notice. Strong leadership and zero-tolerance for criminality yields results and it is a big reason why Bukele’s approval rating exceeds 90 percent.
Meanwhile back home in America and since Biden has taken over, cities have become uninhabitable. In 2022 in New York City, the murder rate stood at 6.3 per 100,000 inhabitants. That’s three times the murder rate of El Salvador, which was literally the most dangerous country in the Western Hemisphere a few years ago–before someone with strong political will and moral courage came into power.
You would never hear President Bukele talk about idiotic things like “cashless bail” and same-day releases for violent criminals because he has seen how letting criminals run rampant throughout society destroyed his country’s spirit and identity.
In New York and other liberal cities in America, it is almost impossible to actually get a criminal locked up and held accountable. The George Soros funded district attorneys in many liberal cities release people awaiting trial with excuses that even the most hardened liberals know are idiotic and asinine.
The Salvadoran people welcome the police and embrace them. They know how bad and how lawless things become when they are removed from the equation. That is also why they re-elected Bukele by an overwhelming landslide and why he is considered a hero among the population.
The love that the Salvadoran people have for Bukele is everywhere. It is similar to how many Americans feel about President Donald Trump. No, it is not a cult. It is a genuine appreciation for how they put themselves on the line and took incoming from the Left to bring safety and security to their people. Without that, you cannot have prosperity.
The future is bright for the people of El Salvador–and I truly hope our American leaders wake up and try to take a hint from world leaders like Bukele. We, the American people, want law and order. We want criminals off the streets.
All it takes is strong political will to make it happen and a leader with unyielding courage to see it through.
Joey Mannarino is a conservative political strategist and podcaster.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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