Nayib Bukele’s role in the Trump administration’s deportation strategy signals a new level of power and global visibility for El Salvador’s young leader.
Shortly after the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador this weekend, the Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, posted a three-minute video on social media. It featured shackled men being marched off a plane over a dramatic electronic soundtrack and into prison, where they were shaved bald.
Mr. Bukele also taunted the U.S. judge who unsuccessfully ordered the flights turned around, posting on X, “Oopsie … Too late,” with a laughing emoji. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared the video, as did Elon Musk. Mr. Trump thanked Mr. Bukele online, saying, “We will not forget!”
El Salvador’s role in the Trump administration’s deportation strategy signals a new level of power and global visibility for Mr. Bukele, who became president at 37 in 2019 and was re-elected by a landslide last year.
He has become Latin America’s most popular leader for his takedown of gangs, even as he has suspended key civil liberties and has been accused by U.S. prosecutors of secretly negotiating with the same gangs. He is now positioning himself as a crucial regional ally to Mr. Trump.
The world’s ‘coolest dictator’
Mr. Bukele uses social media to project a slick and casual look — often wearing a backward baseball cap and aviator shades — and to respond to criticism of his iron-fisted approach to crime and violence.