El Salvador: Police Say They Thwarted a Bomb Plot on Nayib Bukele's Inauguration
The "World's Coolest Dictator," Nayib Bukele, has now started his second term as the president of El Salvador. However, the bitcoin-hawking strongman may not have made it to his second term as police stated they found bombs that were planted at several locations all over the country on the eve of his second inauguration.
According to Reuters, Salvadoran police claimed they arrested seven "veterans" who had fought in the country's 1992 civil war. They also allegedly arrested the plot's alleged financier, Jose Santos Melara, a former leftist lawmaker who was part of the FMLN party, which was formed by former guerrillas. Bukele used to be part of the FMLN.
Police stated that the alleged bombers "were part of the so-called Salvadoran Insurrection Brigade and their objectives were to detonate (explosives) at gas stations, supermarkets, and public institutions," before showing the press some photos of the explosives that these alleged terrorists tried to detonate.
Bukele was expelled from the FMLN party when it was still in power back in 2017. He then ran against his former party and was elected president, criticizing his former party's 1992 peace accords with the government that ended the El Salvador Civil War.
Despite the El Salvador Constitution banning him from running for another term, Bukele kicked out Supreme Court justices opposed to him and replaced them with his loyalists. These Supreme Court justices allowed him to run despite many of the country's legal experts crying foul. This then led to him winning that landslide victory in the elections last February.
"Violence has no place in politics," opposition politician and Bukele election rival Luis Parada said in a statement on social media, pointing out that the national police under Bukele has a "history of false accusations ... especially during the last two years."
Nayib Bukele Touts Record in War Against Violent Gangs in Election Victory
Coming into the election, Nayib Bukele has had sky-high approval ratings. This is all because of his popular crackdown against the violent gangs that have plagued Central America, including MS-13 and Barrio-18.
"We went from being the most insecure country in the world to the safest country in the entire Western Hemisphere," the president told his followers from the balcony of the country's presidential palace soon after winning the election.
"The Salvadoran people spoke and not only loud and clear, but they spoke in the most forceful way in the entire history of democracy in the entire world. If that doesn't convince you, journalists, gentlemen from NGOs, international organizations, the UN, the OAS," he added, addressing the international observers. "If that doesn't convince you, nothing will convince you."
Joe Biden Confirms US Delegation Will Attend Nayib Bukele Inauguration
The inauguration itself will happen on June 1, and several countries will be sending their own delegations to the event, including the United States, as President Joe Biden himself has confirmed.
US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will be leading the delegation, which will include William H. Duncan, United States Ambassador to the Republic of El Salvador, Commerce Undersecretary Marisa Lago, and more.
READ NEXT: El Salvador Authorities Dismantle Migrant Smuggling Ring
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
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