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        {"code":"27824","sect":"Opinion","sect_slug":"opinion","hits":"120","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202505\/opinion\/27824","link_edit":"","name":"The Anti-Trump Machine Takes on Bukele in the United States","slug":"the-anti-trump-machine-takes-on-bukele-in-the-united-states","info":"The U.S. Democratic elite\u2019s relationship with El Salvador has gone from an uncomfortable coexistence at the end of the Biden era to the rediscovery of Bukele as Trump\u2019s accomplice. Democrats don\u2019t have to win the presidency in 2028 to help further erode Bukele\u2019s image.","mtag":"Politics","noun":{"html":"Ricardo Valencia","data":{"ricardo-valencia":{"sort":"","slug":"ricardo-valencia","path":"ricardo_valencia","name":"Ricardo Valencia","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"120","pict":{"cms-image-000041848-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"41848","name":"cms-image-000041848.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041848.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000041848.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000041848-jpg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele gives a thumbs-up as he departs after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., Apr. 14, 2025. Photo Brendan Smialowski\/AFP&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ESalvadoran President Nayib Bukele gives a thumbs-up as he departs after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., Apr. 14, 2025. Photo Brendan Smialowski\/AFP\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":41848,"date":{"live":"2025\/05\/01"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2025","data_post_dateLive_MM":"05","data_post_dateLive_DD":"01","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202505\/columnas\/27819\/la-maquinaria-anti-trump-se-enfrenta-a-bukele-en-estados-unidos\"\u003ELeer en espa\u00f1ol\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn the United States, the debate over the unjust deportation of Kilmar \u00c1brego to El Salvador is not about President Nayib Bukele, nor even about the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT). It is about President Donald Trump and his attack on democracy and the rule of law. It is, above all, a protest against the possibility that Trump will \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/04\/17\/g-s1-60847\/up-first-newsletter-el-salvador-home-growns-trump-tariffs-criminal-contempt\"\u003Esend U.S. citizens to El Salvador\u003C\/a\u003E as prisoners, as the U.S. president himself suggested to his Salvadoran counterpart. In all this, Bukele is perceived by part of the U.S. population as an accomplice. According to \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net\/documents\/econTabReport_iR37dyy.pdf#page=33\"\u003Ea recent poll\u003C\/a\u003E, a majority of Americans do not believe or doubt that \u00c1brego is a gang member, as the Trump and Bukele administrations have \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-white-house-el-salvador-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ad338d6b4558a6aba80e8290fd3eece9\"\u003Eaccused him of being\u003C\/a\u003E. Another study suggests that, since \u00c1brego's emergence in the U.S. political debate, the popularity of Trump\u2019s handling of immigration \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/official-polls\/fox-news-poll-first-100-days-president-trumps-second-term\"\u003Ehas also fallen\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn Thursday, Apr. 18, 2025, Bukele suffered one of his most embarrassing international media defeats, even though, in El Salvador, he may have celebrated with his chorus of applauders. That day, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/us-news\/immigration\/house-democrats-arrive-in-el-salvador-to-push-for-abrego-garcias-return\/\"\u003Earrived in El Salvador\u003C\/a\u003E to inquire about \u00c1brego\u2019s health. At first, Bukele\u2019s government \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/chris-van-hollen-interview-kilmar-abrego-garcia-visit\/\"\u003Edenied Van Hollen entry\u003C\/a\u003E to the CECOT, where the U.S. government claimed he was being held.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHours later, the Salvadoran government relented and Van Hollen \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2025\/04\/17\/abrego-garcia-conservatives-republians-trump\/\"\u003Emet with \u00c1brego\u003C\/a\u003E at a hotel in the capital. By then, Van Hollen's visit had set off a whirlwind that turned upside-down the traditional media and outlets aligned with a movement critical of \u2014or that has declared itself in resistance to\u2014 the Donald Trump administration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EFor many people who had barely heard of Bukele, the Salvadoran president became synonymous overnight with torture and abuse of power. \u00c1brego was wrongfully deported from the United States, and the Supreme Court has ordered the U.S. government to \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/04\/10\/nx-s1-5358421\/supreme-court-abrego-garcia-deportation-decision\"\u003Efacilitate his return\u003C\/a\u003E. Suddenly, the anti-Trump movement found in Van Hollen a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/today.yougov.com\/topics\/politics\/survey-results\/daily\/2025\/04\/12\/bb4b4\/1\"\u003Ecause popular\u003C\/a\u003E with the vast majority of U.S. Americans and aligned with a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/feb\/09\/democrats-aggressive-stand-against-trump\"\u003Ebase hungry for a fight\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe anti-Trump machine Bukele faces is powerful, having defeated Trump in 2020. Upon returning from his trip, Van Hollen \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=88_htG1N-1w&pp=ygUYdmFuIGhvbGxlbiBwcmVzcyByZWxlYXNl0gcJCX4JAYcqIYzv\"\u003Eheld a press conference\u003C\/a\u003E with dozens of U.S. journalists in which he revealed that Bukele tried to manipulate the meeting with \u00c1brego and that the U.S. government \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2025\/04\/18\/trump-presidency-news-tariffs-deportations\/\"\u003Epaid around $15 million\u003C\/a\u003E to keep \u00c1brego and hundreds of Venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador. On Sunday, April 20, Van Hollen appeared on major talk shows. In all of them, the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=afY90I5a6L0\"\u003Emessage was simple\u003C\/a\u003E: Van Hollen does not defend \u00c1brego as a person, but his right to a fair trial in the US justice system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWithout knowing it, Bukele activated an enemy like he had never seen before. The anti-Trump movement relies on an intense presence in most traditional media outlets. Traditional leaders from former Secretary of State \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hillaryclinton\/status\/1913231959343476923?s=46\"\u003EHillary Clinton\u003C\/a\u003E to progressive Senator \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sensanders\/status\/1913243373617508540?s=46\"\u003EBernie Sanders\u003C\/a\u003E joined the campaign led by Van Hollen. So did Democrat Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6371763856112\"\u003Evisited El Salvador a week after\u003C\/a\u003E Van Hollen, along with \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.wftv.com\/news\/local\/rep-maxwell-frost-visits-el-salvador-demand-release-man-deported-us\/72YKB2SO2FBQZG5AKYOALOXCIY\/\"\u003Ethree other representatives\u003C\/a\u003E. Thanks to this blitz, Bukele has \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/repmcgovern?lang=en\"\u003Ebecome a dictator\u003C\/a\u003E in the eyes of many, and the CECOT a \u201c\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/18\/world\/americas\/bukele-abrego-garcia-elsalvador-prison.html\"\u003Egulag\u003C\/a\u003E\u201d or \u201c\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/where-things-stand\/trump-is-sending-people-to-the-camps\"\u003Econcentration camp\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe anti-Trump machine has left behind the slow pace of information under Joe Biden\u2019s presidency. The \u201cresistance\u201d has energized digital media outlets such as \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/meidas-touch-podcast-interview-brett-ben-jordan-meiselas-2035869\"\u003EMeidasTouch Network\u003C\/a\u003E, which has become the most powerful political podcast in the U.S., dethroning pro-Trump podcaster Joe Rogan. MeidasTouch, which claims to have been viewed at least \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/open.substack.com\/pub\/meidastouch\/p\/major-friday-message-from-meidas?r=ynjbs&utm_medium=ios\"\u003Esix billion times\u003C\/a\u003E, called the CECOT \u201c\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MeidasTouch\/status\/1911918893188419639\"\u003Etorture camps\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d Among the victims of this movement is Elon Musk, president of electric vehicle company Tesla and Trump official. Since Musk joined the administration, Tesla has \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/ktla.com\/news\/tesla-profits-fall-by-70-amid-backlash-tied-to-elon-musk\/\"\u003Elost 70 percent\u003C\/a\u003E of its profits. In this context, Van Hollen is asking U.S. tourists not to travel to El Salvador and to choose other destinations such as Costa Rica, while Illinois governor and billionaire J.B. Pritzker has \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com\/governor-pritzker-announces-measures-in-response-to-trump-administrations-constitutional-abuses\"\u003Elaunched a boycott\u003C\/a\u003E of Salvadoran products and companies, among other measures.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Democratic elite\u2019s relationship with El Salvador has gone from strong criticism of Bukele \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/latino\/biden-officials-turn-down-unannounced-visit-el-salvador-pres-nayib-n1257160\"\u003Eat the beginning\u003C\/a\u003E of Biden's presidency to an \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202405\/el_salvador\/27420\/us-tries-not-to-offend-bukele-in-annual-human-rights-report\"\u003Euncomfortable coexistence\u003C\/a\u003E at the end of the Biden era, only to rediscover Bukele as Trump\u2019s accomplice. I spoke with Antonio De Loera, former special assistant to former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who explained to me the Biden administration\u2019s calculation for the diplomatic truce with Bukele. \u201cWe decided not to create conflict with Bukele. We may not have liked everything he did, but the perspective was that we needed his cooperation to reduce migration, and we also understood the desperation caused by insecurity (in El Salvador),\u201d said the former official.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EDe Loera also asserts that Bukele, due to his complicity with Trump, \u201chas irrefutably become a problem in the eyes of many Democrats,\u201d and that the Salvadoran could repel half of the U.S. population.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EDemocrats don\u2019t have to win the presidency in 2028 to help erode Bukele's image even further. If they win one of the two legislative chambers in the 2026 midterm elections, Democrats can initiate \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/politics\/government\/house-democrats-travel-to-el-salvador-despite-gop-blocking-official-codel\/ar-AA1DkzqI?ocid=BingNewsVerp\"\u003Elegislative delegations\u003C\/a\u003E to El Salvador that would have the power to investigate and report on human rights abuses. So far, Democrats like Van Hollen have traveled to El Salvador in a personal capacity, and Republican delegations have limited themselves to posing in Bukele\u2019s prisons with tattooed men behind them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHowever, potential delegations sent during a Democratic-controlled Congress could have not only a strong political impact but also shape media coverage and public opinion about El Salvador. In the 1980s, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1982\/02\/14\/world\/us-tells-officer-who-carried-rifle-to-leave-salvador.html\"\u003Ebipartisan delegations\u003C\/a\u003E to El Salvador revealed the extensive human rights violations that Salvadoran governments tried to hide. This helped mobilize millions of people against military aid to El Salvador and force Congress to condition cooperation with the Central American country.\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=2667&ImageId=41848 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele gives a thumbs-up as he departs after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., Apr. 14, 2025. Photo Brendan Smialowski\/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 gives a thumbs-up as he departs after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., Apr. 14, 2025. Photo Brendan Smialowski\/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\"\u003EBukele seeks to stem the damage to his image with cruel tweets, a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/04\/22\/us-news\/anna-paulina-luna-personally-invited-to-meet-with-el-salvadors-president-after-he-trolled-dem-colleague-for-meeting-with-alleged-ms-13-gangbanger\/\"\u003Epersonal invitation\u003C\/a\u003E to Republican Rep. Ana Paulina Luna to visit El Salvador, and an offer to exchange political prisoners \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/04\/20\/americas\/el-salvador-bukele-prisoner-swap-venezuela-intl-latam\/index.html\"\u003Ewith Venezuela\u003C\/a\u003E. The Trump administration has \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/194255\/donald-trump-claim-kilmar-abrego-garcia-tattoos\"\u003Eattacked \u00c1brego\u003C\/a\u003E without defending Bukele. The Salvadoran has very little electoral value at present, only serving Trump as a place to send people he considers undesirable.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBukele apparently thinks he can escape this maze by using the same tricks he used when El Salvador was not a domestic political issue in the United States. In reality, little depends on him and his few Democratic allies, such as Congressmen Vicente Gonz\u00e1lez and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/correa.house.gov\/news\/press-releases\/readout-correa-travels-to-el-salvador-for-inauguration-of-president-nayib-bukele\"\u003ELou Correa\u003C\/a\u003E. The anti-Trump movement will change its focus when the issue of \u00c1brego and other immigrants in El Salvador\u2019s prisons no longer serves its purposes, or appears counterproductive. So far, the fight is popular with the anti-Trump base. This coincides with Trump\u2019s \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/nymag.com\/intelligencer\/article\/trumps-approval-rating-keeps-getting-worse.html\"\u003Edeclining popularity\u003C\/a\u003E and the fact that the U.S. economy is dangerously \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/us\/tariffs-trigger-sharp-us-economic-slowdown-chance-recession-jumps-45-2025-04-17\/\"\u003Eclose to recession\u003C\/a\u003E in the thralls of a trade war against the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBy attempting to \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/04\/20\/americas\/el-salvador-bukele-prisoner-swap-venezuela-intl-latam\/index.html\"\u003Enegotiate a prisoner exchange\u003C\/a\u003E with Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, Bukele seems interested in putting out the fire that has spread among many U.S. Americans. If Bukele wants to repair the damage, he must return \u00c1brego to the United States and release the hundreds of Venezuelans kidnapped in his prisons. Anything less than that will only reinforce the narrative that the anti-Trump machine has communicated to its base. In that narrative, Bukele is merely an accomplice helping Trump destroy U.S. democracy and turn the United States into a country like El Salvador: poor, dangerous, and without democracy.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Chr \/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ERicardo Valencia is an associate professor of communications at California State University, Fullerton. Find him on X: \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ricardovalp\/\"\u003E@ricardovalp\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E"}

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