Central America

Brazilian deputies visit Cecot and highlight security results

Photo: Diario El Salvador

December 18 |

Brazilian federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro highlighted yesterday on social networks the security results obtained by the government of President Nayib Bukele. The Brazilian legislator was part of the delegation of seven parliamentarians who visited the country to see the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) and all the security policies implemented in the last four years.

He also reiterated that President Bukele has a 90% approval rating from the population and that the security measures implemented with the Territorial Control Plan (PCT) and the exception regime have allowed El Salvador to accumulate more than 500 days without homicides during his administration, in which more than 75,000 criminals, mainly gang members, have also been arrested.

The implementation of security strategies, reforms to regulations so that criminals do not leave prisons, the alignment of powers and the dignification of the security forces are some of the aspects that Bolsonaro highlighted, so he reiterated that this has allowed President Bukele to achieve the transformation of El Salvador.

“What Nayib Bukele did is everything we proposed in terms of security in the Brazilian congress. The mentality is the same: arrested criminals do not commit crimes in society. With greater punishability, the economic theory of the criminal becomes more dangerous for him to commit a crime. Bukele managed to do this by electing a group of aligned parliamentarians and purging mainly the radical left in the elections,” Bolsonaro wrote in X.

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The congressman stressed that, thanks to the exception regime, El Salvador went from being the most violent country in the world in 2015 to a benchmark in security and rivaling Switzerland for the number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

“Today, if a police officer finds a notorious mafioso, he can arrest him for up to six months, the time the Public Prosecutor’s Office has to present the first evidence against the accused. The rule is that the accused responds to the arrested case (in Brazil it is the opposite). Between criminals and good people, today El Salvador cares about good citizens. That is why in Brazil there are criminals every day who have criminal records, who walk around the block and are arrested countless times; no longer in El Salvador,” he said.

President Bukele managed to decrease the criminal actions of gangs since he began his administration in 2019, and 2023 is about to close as the safest year in the history of El Salvador, an aspect that has paved the way for sectors such as the economy, tourism and education to develop and strengthen; to this effect the president considered important the dignification of law enforcement and has emphasized that none of the above would be possible without them.

Bolsonaro pointed out: “With more personnel, better salaries, with social security support, technology, support from the president and the population, as well as legal support, the police will fight the initial battle. Then comes social support: health, education, employment. Before, it made no sense to build schools in a gang-dominated area […]. Tourism also receives special attention as an economic engine.

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Related Topics:Brazil CECOT Central America El Salvador

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Mulino Vows Tougher Crackdown as Homicides Increase in Panama

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said Thursday that his administration will not negotiate with gangs in an attempt to curb the wave of violence that has recently shaken the country and fueled growing public concern over insecurity.

“I am not going to sit down, nor is the security minister going to sit down with the leader of any gang to negotiate,” Mulino stated while rejecting any possibility of dialogue with criminal organizations.

According to statistics from the Public Ministry of Panama, the country recorded 62 homicides in April, nearly double the 34 reported during the same month last year. In March, authorities registered 53 killings, representing a 20% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

Panamanian authorities say the country’s two main gangs, among more than 180 criminal organizations identified nationwide, are behind the recent escalation in violence.

The National Police of Panama stated that disputes over territorial control, recruitment of new members, and drug theft between rival gangs are driving the increase in murders and armed attacks.

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Mulino also expressed concern about innocent civilians becoming victims of the violence.

“They are in restaurants, they are in schools, and they become victims of these shootings,” the president said.

The Panamanian leader further called for tougher judicial measures against gang leaders and drug trafficking operators, criticizing court decisions that grant house arrest to suspects linked to contract killings and organized crime.

“We are going to act as we must to defend the overwhelming majority of Panamanian citizens, who are not criminals and are not drug traffickers,” Mulino stated.

Authorities believe that rising cocaine production in South America and Panama’s role as a transit route for drugs destined for the United States and Europe continue to strengthen gangs involved in narcotics trafficking.

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Central America

Arévalo Announces Overhaul of Guatemala’s Prison System Amid Security Crisis

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said Thursday that his administration is working on a major transformation of the country’s prison system in an effort to end what he described as a “feast of corruption” inside Guatemala’s jails.

Speaking during an official ceremony in which Guatemala received 20 new inmate transport vehicles with support from the United States and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Arévalo stressed that prisons must no longer remain under the control of criminal organizations.

“Prisons should not be places where crime is perfected, but places where rehabilitation becomes possible,” the president said during his speech.

Arévalo explained that the addition of the new vehicles will strengthen security, surveillance, and operational control within the penitentiary system, which is considered one of the most overcrowded in the region.

Guatemala’s prisons currently hold more than 25,000 inmates in facilities originally designed for approximately 7,000 people, representing overcrowding levels exceeding 300%. Authorities acknowledge that these conditions have enabled gangs and criminal groups to coordinate extortion schemes, murders, and other crimes from inside prison facilities.

The crisis reached one of its most critical moments in January, when government attempts to regain control of several prisons triggered riots in three detention centers across the country.

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Panama confirms drug contamination of El Salvador coffee shipment occurred on its territory

A container originating from El Salvador and carrying coffee for export was contaminated with more than 1,152 packages of drugs while in transit through Panama, according to official information confirmed by the Panamanian government this Tuesday.

The case, which had previously generated political controversy in April 2025 after opposition sectors attempted to link the Salvadoran government to drug trafficking, has now been clarified through renewed investigations.

Authorities confirmed that the container departed from the port of Acajutla after being properly inspected, with no illicit substances detected at the time of export.

According to statements previously provided by El Salvador’s Minister of Defense, René Merino Monroy, the shipment traveled first to the port of Balboa in Panama, where it remained stored for several days before being transferred to another vessel bound for Manzanillo in Colón.

It was at that terminal that Panamanian authorities discovered the drugs and identified tampering with the container seals, indicating that the illicit alteration occurred during its transit in Panama rather than in Salvadoran territory.

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The findings align with earlier explanations provided by Salvadoran officials and confirm that the contamination of the cargo took place outside of El Salvador’s jurisdiction.