From the Center
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, likes to call himself “the world’s coolest dictator.” Earlier in his time in office, Bukele was fond of wearing backwards baseball caps and aviator sunglasses to accentuate the non-traditional and culturally rebellious aspect of his leadership. But his true impact has not been his clothing, but rather his extremely aggressive crackdown on the country’s devastating gang violence.
Since taking office in 2019, Bukele has sent the military into gang-controlled neighborhoods, conducted large-scale arrests of suspected gang members, constructed immense prisons where convicts are subjected to extremely severe living conditions that violate international norms, and most controversially, suspended several freedoms prescribed by the nation’s constitution to more forcefully crack down on potential threats to public safety.
The results have been unparalleled. As a result of the sizable reduction in crime, Bukele enjoys public approval ratings of 75 percent or higher, making him one of the most popular leaders in the world. He has also been criticized by the United Nations and Amnesty International for excessive use of force and human rights violations, and for his decision to order soldiers to accompany him onto the floor of the Legislative Assembly to intimidate that body’s members.
Much of this existed on the fringes of the American consciousness until a few weeks ago, when more than 200 migrants were deported from the US and sent to El Salvador’s largest prison as a signature part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown against unauthorized immigrants. Much of the public and media’s attention has been focused on the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who the Trump Administration has admitted was deported because of an administrative error but has since fought against his return. Abrego Garcia’s fate is only the most visible aspect of a much broader controversy, which has led to Bukele’s emergence as a major figure in our country’s political and cultural wars.
By the time Bukele came to the White House last week to meet with Trump, the El Salvadoran leader was already a bona fide political celebrity. White House staff and Justice Department lawyers had asserted that they lacked the authority to bring Abrego Garcia back because he was in another country and therefore outside their jurisdiction. While no one seriously expected Bukele to simply offer to return his prize prisoner, there was considerable curiosity about how he would handle the inevitable questions.
Trump fans need not have worried. Bukele presented a master class in obfuscation and evasion, wondering, “How could I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power.” The practical and legal aspects of Bukele’s response left Abrego Garcia in an international gray area. But the performative aspects of Bukele’s response were positively Trump-ian. His host watched the exchange with obvious approval and enjoyment.
By the end of the week, El Salvador’s president was outshining his American president in the theatrical aspects of migrant imprisonment. When Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen traveled to the facility where Abrego Garcia was being held, he was denied entry, and his requests to speak with his constituent were refused by government officials. But the following day, he was granted permission to meet, with no explanation for the sudden reversal.
Bukele’s motivations quickly became clear. While Trump is known for his attention to the visuals surrounding his public events, Bukele is a former public relations professional whose social media skills were instrumental to his election. He recognized that a US senator visiting El Salvador could provide a compelling photo that could be used to undermine the charges that a prisoner in his custody was being mistreated.
As a result, Van Hollen was given the opportunity to meet with Abrego Garcia not in a detention facility but in a hotel restaurant. Bukele’s minions made sure that the patio furniture in the background was clearly visible. For good measure, they placed two glasses with salt on the rims on the table, allowing Bukele to post on X that the senator and the prisoner “were sipping margaritas together... in the tropical paradise of El Salvador.” The resulting propaganda coup was shared through both social media and legacy media throughout the world.
There’s little question that Trump was carefully watching this marketing exercise as it unfolded—and grateful for it. The American public’s attention is focused much more on immigration and deportations than on tariffs and inflation. And Bukele has helped make that happen.
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Dan Schnur is a Professor at the University of California – Berkeley, Pepperdine University, and the University of Southern California, where he teaches courses in politics, communications and leadership. Dan is a No Party Preference voter, but previously worked on four presidential and three gubernatorial campaigns, serving as the national Director of Communications for the 2000 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator John McCain and the chief media spokesman for California Governor Pete Wilson. He has a Center bias.
This piece was reviewed and edited by Clare Ashcraft, Bridging Coordinator & Media Analyst (Center bias).