A few years ago, El Salvador was one of the most violent nations in the world, with gang killings taking the lives of dozens of people every week. 

Nayib Bukele, elected president in 2019, changed all that—today, violence is way down. But his brute-force approach to the problem has involved mass arrests, secret deals, and forced disappearances into a harsh prison system—which is apparently the envy of many in the Trump administration.

Filmmaker Neil Brandvold has covered much of El Salvador’s transition from dangerous gangland to authoritarian dreamworld, and he joins The Kicker to explain the methods Bukele used to construct his fragile peace.

Read/Watch more:

*Neil’s 2024 Fault Lines documentary on El Salvador’s gang crackdown.

*Neil’s 2018 Economist video about a religious reform movement for gang members.

*Neil’s 2019 New York Times video including interview with Nayib Bukele.

*El Faro’s 2020 investigative reporting on Bukele’s early deals with the MS-13 gang. 

Hosted by Josh Hersh
Produced by Amanda Darrach