(ConservativeSense.com) – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has visited El Salvador to meet with President Nayib Bukele, who is engaged in a war against major criminal gangs there.
During the visit, Rubio lashed out at President Biden and accused him of alienating Bukele by taking the side of the gangs. Bukele has adopted an aggressive policy toward criminal organizations by restricting some liberties in order to allow police to round up suspected members. The policy and the President are supported by around 70% of the citizens of the Central American nation.
While the country enjoyed good relations with the United States under President Trump, this has disintegrated under Biden. On his Twitter account, President Bukele said he has not received any support from the US since Trump and that the Biden administration is more concerned with the freedoms of gang members than with the rights of law-abiding people. He was responding to a press release from Secretary of State Antony Blinken that criticized the Salvadoran government and its crackdown on gangsters.
Following the gang-related killings of 62 people in a single day, President Bukele implemented new emergency measures allowing for the arrest of more than 9,000 people in the space of only a couple of weeks.
While critics argue that the measures are too harsh, Bukele says they have resulted in a dramatic reduction in violent crime. He said March 2023 was the safest month in the history of the country. Law-abiding people have rewarded the President with the highest approval ratings in Latin America. Bukele is popular with 92% of the country’s residents.
In a video posted after his visit, Senator Rubio said the Biden administration is alienating one of few nations south of the border that is still pro-America.
Referring to President Bukele, Rubio said, “This is a guy that has tried to be friendly and an ally to the United States, and we have a problem with our foreign policy. We treat our enemies better than we treat our friends.”
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