{"code":"27814","sect":"EF Audio","sect_slug":"ef-audio","hits":"339","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202505\/ef_audio\/27814","link_edit":"","name":"Podcast: In Bukele\u2019s El Salvador, Defying Court Orders Is an Old Tune","slug":"podcast-in-bukele-rsquo-s-el-salvador-defying-court-orders-is-an-old-tune","info":"It may have come as a surprise in the U.S. when Trump and Bukele shrugged off a court order to bring back wrongfully deported immigrant Kilmar \u00c1brego. But in El Salvador, presidential non-compliance has been business as usual since 2020.","mtag":"Impunity","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/rgressier'\u003E Roman Gressier\u003C\/span\u003E","data":{"roman-gressier":{"sort":"rgressier","slug":"roman-gressier","path":"roman_gressier","name":"Roman Gressier","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"339","pict":{"cms-image-000041851-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"41851","name":"cms-image-000041851.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041851.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041851.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000041851-jpg","text":"<p>On Apr. 6, 2020, La Bermeja Cementary held its first burial under Covid-19 protocols. By then, the cementary had already prepared a special common burial ground to accommodate those who would die of the virus. The Salvadoran government quickly imposed a strict and popular lockdown and sealed off access to public information on pandemic-related spending. In the ensuing weeks and months, the Salvadoran press uncovered widespread graft, self-dealing, and fraud in the government's pandemic response, leading to raids on various ministries. San Salvador mayoral candidate and current mayor Mario Dur\u00e1n, for President Bukele's party Nuevas Ideas, even diverted food relief for affected families to his 2021 political campaign, an El Faro investigation found.<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EOn Apr. 6, 2020, La Bermeja Cementary held its first burial under Covid-19 protocols. By then, the cementary had already prepared a special common burial ground to accommodate those who would die of the virus. The Salvadoran government quickly imposed a strict and popular lockdown and sealed off access to public information on pandemic-related spending. In the ensuing weeks and months, the Salvadoran press uncovered widespread graft, self-dealing, and fraud in the government's pandemic response, leading to raids on various ministries. San Salvador mayoral candidate and current mayor Mario Dur\u00e1n, for President Bukele's party Nuevas Ideas, even diverted food relief for affected families to his 2021 political campaign, an El Faro investigation found.\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000041852-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"41852","name":"cms-image-000041852.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041852.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041852.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000041852-jpg","text":"<p>Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele waves at soldiers joining the Armed Forces at Gerardo Barrios Square in the Historic Center of San Salvador, on July 29, 2019, two months after he took office. Photo Marvin Recinos\/AFP<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ESalvadoran President Nayib Bukele waves at soldiers joining the Armed Forces at Gerardo Barrios Square in the Historic Center of San Salvador, on July 29, 2019, two months after he took office. Photo Marvin Recinos\/AFP\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":41852,"date":{"live":"2025\/04\/18"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2025","data_post_dateLive_MM":"04","data_post_dateLive_DD":"18","text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ciframe src=\"https:\/\/embed.podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/in-bukeles-el-salvador-defying-court-orders-is-an-old-tune\/id1617223682?i=1000703974646\" width=\"320\" height=\"175\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;\"\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003EThe following is a transcript of episode 24 of the weekly El Faro English podcast,\u003C\/span\u003E\u00a0\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/central-america-in-minutes\/id1617223682\"\u003ECentral America in Minutes\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETRUMP: Home-growns are next. The home-growns. You\u2019ve got to build about five more places.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBUKELE: Yeah. We\u2019ve got space.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ETRUMP: It\u2019s not big enough.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGRESSIER, HOST: In the Oval Office on Monday with Nayib Bukele, Donald Trump again \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/atrupar\/status\/1911824313553928513\"\u003Efloated the idea\u003C\/a\u003E of imprisoning U.S. citizens in CECOT. The two leaders also shrugged off a judicial order to bring back wrongfully-deported immigrant Kilmar \u00c1brego. It may have come as a surprise in the United States. But in El Salvador, presidential non-compliance \u2014followed by \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202105\/el_salvador\/0000025452-bukeles-legislative-assembly-ousts-supreme-court-magistrates-and-attorney-general\"\u003Ejudicial cooptation\u003C\/a\u003E\u2014 has been business as usual since 2020.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis Tuesday marked exactly five years since the first time that Bukele refused to back down from flouting a Supreme Court order in El Salvador.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEl Faro is\u2026 mostly\u2026 on vacation for Holy Week. But we can\u2019t help ourselves: We\u2019ve been keeping close tabs on Nayib Bukele\u2019s meeting with Donald Trump at the White House. Today we share the perspectives of two Salvadoran columnists from our flagship El Faro English newsletter. You\u2019re listening to our weekly podcast, Central America in Minutes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn April 2020, one month into the Covid-19 pandemic, the Constitutional Chamber \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202004\/el_salvador\/24306\/%E2%80%9CDefending-the-Constitution-Is-Not-Up-to-One-Court-It%E2%80%99s-the-Collective-Work-of-Citizens-Committed-to-the-Democratic-Order%E2%80%9D.htm\"\u003Eordered Bukele to stop detaining people\u003C\/a\u003E for violating his iron-fisted stay-at-home mandate. He responded accusing the magistrates of wishing death on Salvadorans. As a result of the crackdown, many died in \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202004\/el_salvador\/24365\/Life-and-Death-in-a-Government-Quarantine-Facility-in-El-Salvador.htm\"\u003Eovercrowded quarantine facilities\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=4000&ImageHeight=2666&ImageId=41851 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"On Apr. 6, 2020, La Bermeja Cementary held its first burial under Covid-19 protocols. By then, the cementary had already prepared a special common burial ground to accommodate those who would die of the virus. The Salvadoran government quickly imposed a strict and popular lockdown and sealed off access to public information on pandemic-related spending. In the ensuing weeks and months, the Salvadoran press uncovered widespread graft, self-dealing, and fraud in the government's pandemic response, leading to raids on various ministries. San Salvador mayoral candidate and current mayor Mario Dur\u00e1n, for President Bukele's party Nuevas Ideas, even diverted food relief for affected families to his 2021 political campaign, an El Faro investigation found.\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E On Apr. 6, 2020, La Bermeja Cementary held its first burial under Covid-19 protocols. By then, the cementary had already prepared a special common burial ground to accommodate those who would die of the virus. The Salvadoran government quickly imposed a strict and popular lockdown and sealed off access to public information on pandemic-related spending. In the ensuing weeks and months, the Salvadoran press uncovered widespread graft, self-dealing, and fraud in the government's pandemic response, leading to raids on various ministries. San Salvador mayoral candidate and current mayor Mario Dur\u00e1n, for President Bukele's party Nuevas Ideas, even diverted food relief for affected families to his 2021 political campaign, an El Faro investigation found. \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs Gabriela C\u00e1ceres and Graciela Barrera noted in El Faro\u2019s new \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/el-resumen-el-inicio-de-las-detenciones\/id1613653733?i=1000702325619\"\u003Eweekly Spanish-language podcast, El resumen\u003C\/a\u003E, the pandemic offered Bukele his first experiment in mass detentions outside the constitutional framework. For 40 out of 70 months in power, he has governed one suspension of constitutional rights or another.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENow, Bukele controls every branch and office of government in El Salvador. In his visit to the White House, at the start of Semana Santa, he excoriated Kilmar \u00c1brego, a Salvadoran immigrant, as a \u201cterrorist\u201d, dismissing a U.S. reporter\u2019s inquiry as \u201cpreposterous\u201d.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn Thursday night, Bukele posted pictures of \u00c1brego meeting with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, whom he had refused to allow to enter CECOT. \u201cMiraculously risen from the \u2018death camps\u2019 and \u2018torture\u2019, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador,\u201d tweeted Bukele. \u201cNow that he\u2019s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador\u2019s custody.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThis is not Nayib Bukele\u2019s first rodeo when it comes to defying court orders. One could say he has built a successful political brand on doing just that,\u201d writes Salvadoran journalist Ricardo Avelar \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202505\/opinion\/27813\/Beware-the-Ides-of-April-Nayib-Bukele-Exports-Contempt-for-the-Law.htm\"\u003Ein an op-ed for El Faro English\u003C\/a\u003E. Bukele \u201carrived at the White House not just as a friendly counterpart, but as a smug guru in 21st-century power consolidation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cDear friends in the United States: Beware the Ides of April,\u201d says Avelar. \u201cBeware the stabbing of your democracy that begins with the blatant defiance of judicial authority.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/04\/11\/military-contractors-prison-plan-detained-immigrants-erik-prince-00287208\"\u003EU.S. news outlet Politico\u003C\/a\u003E forecasted last weekend that Bukele's White House visit could have included talks of a plan for El Salvador to cede territory \u2014its \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202505\/ef_audio\/27803\/Podcast-For-a-Portrait-of-Bukele-Look-to-His-Prisons.htm\"\u003Einfamous prison CECOT\u003C\/a\u003E\u2014 to circumvent checks on removals to El Salvador without due process. U.S. mercenary and former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince has offered to help \u201ctransport thousands of immigrants from U.S. holding facilities\u201d.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBlackwater contractors convicted of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/dec\/23\/trump-pardons-blackwater-contractors-jailed-for-massacre-of-iraq-civilians\"\u003Emassacring 14 Iraqi civilians\u003C\/a\u003E in Nisour Square in 2007 were pardoned by Trump in 2020. Prince also sued \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2021\/12\/02\/erik-prince-blackwater-lawsuit-intercept\/\"\u003EThe Intercept\u003C\/a\u003E in 2021 over a report that he offered services to Russia\u2019s Wagner Group mercenaries in Libya and Mozambique. His vision for El Salvador, per Politico, includes U.S. acquisition of Salvadoran territory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cIt is the same legal construct that allows for the use of prisons in Cuba\u2019s Guant\u00e1namo Bay, a territory leased in perpetuity,\u201d writes Salvadoran historian and \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202505\/opinion\/27812\/Lessons-on-Sovereignty-from-Guant%C3%A1namo-to-El-Salvador.htm\"\u003EEl Faro English columnist\u003C\/a\u003E H\u00e9ctor Lindo Fuentes. \u201cWhen a country as powerful as the United States obtains jurisdiction over a territory, it is very difficult for it to relinquish it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=4000&ImageHeight=2950&ImageId=41852 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele waves at soldiers joining the Armed Forces at Gerardo Barrios Square in the Historic Center of San Salvador, on July 29, 2019, two months after he took office. Photo Marvin Recinos\/AFP\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele waves at soldiers joining the Armed Forces at Gerardo Barrios Square in the Historic Center of San Salvador, on July 29, 2019, two months after he took office. Photo Marvin Recinos\/AFP \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOver a century ago, in 1914, the bitter popular aftertaste in Central America after Nicaragua\u2019s Chamorro-Bryan canal-rights treaty and the outbreak of the First World War were decisive in U.S. President Woodrow Wilson\u2019s decision to discard ambitions to convert nations of the isthmus into protectorates, notes Lindo.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EU.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan next tried to negotiate a treaty with El Salvador to obtain a base in the Gulf of Fonseca, in order for their ships to \u201crefuel in calm waters under U.S. jurisdiction.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBut the political reaction in El Salvador was hardly calm. President Carlos Men\u00e9ndez \u201ctried to find a way to satisfy Bryan\u2019s wishes, but he did not dare sell Salvadoran sovereignty,\u201d says Lindo. \u201cThe president knew that popular opposition was too powerful.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn today\u2019s El Salvador, perhaps it is little coincidence that Bukele has made recent controversial moves just as middle-class Salvadorans clock out for vacation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ESuch was the case on December 23, when Bukele announced that he would reactivate metals mining seven years after its total ban. The move was so controversial in El Salvador, as we noted \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202505\/el_salvador\/27800\/return-of-mining-to-el-salvador-awakens-a-quiet-catholic-church\"\u003Ein our April 3 newsletter\u003C\/a\u003E, that it awoke resistance from Catholic leadership, who had largely blessed his authoritarian march.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Chr \/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003ERoman Gressier wrote this episode of Central America in Minutes, with production and original soundtrack by Omnionn. Subscribe on\u00a0\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/central-america-in-minutes\/id1617223682\"\u003EApple\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003E,\u003C\/span\u003E\u00a0\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3TaESG2BINoktFGP8BA8oy\"\u003ESpotify\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003E,\u003C\/span\u003E\u00a0\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/es-ar\/podcasts\/af0dee75-5ec7-46c7-96d7-d7f2bd67d509\/central-america-in-minutes\"\u003EAmazon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003E,\u003C\/span\u003E\u00a0\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/269-central-america-in-minutes-228613132\/\"\u003EiHeart\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003E, and\u003C\/span\u003E\u00a0\u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLJqJvA0ji3Ds4El6MgJmK343llgSDPvRj\"\u003EYouTube\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u00a0\u003Cspan style=\"color: #888888;\"\u003Epodcast platforms.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E"}