Security Sells
Latin America’s right-wing politicians are now particularly keen to visit the 23-hectare maximum-security prison in El Salvador, the brainchild of authoritarian president Nayib Bukele. Many politicians in the region see it as a silver bullet against gang violence. What they miss is that the model cannot be separated from its authoritarian foundations. The Salvadoran “success” rests on emergency rule, suspended fundamental rights, and a Constitutional Court pushed aside.
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Gaming Procedure, Gutting Due Process
The Trump administration has admitted that sending Abrego Garcia to a supermax prison in El Salvador known for human rights abuses was an “administrative error” but contends before the U.S. Supreme Court that there is nothing a federal court can do about that. As I shall explain, the Solicitor General’s argument ultimately rests on the claim that the president who frequently boasts about his abilities as a deal maker is a lousy negotiator.
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