El Salvador's extreme sentencing proves the government is finally matching judicial toughness with security enforcement, permanently removing violent gang members from society and ensuring they never terrorize communities again. Homicides have plummeted to historic lows, extortion rackets have collapsed, and neighborhoods once dominated by MS-13 and Barrio 18 are now safe for the first time in decades.
Bukele's security gains stem from secret pacts with gang leaders, not from defeating them, allowing criminal networks to operate from prisons while drug trafficking continues unabated. The crackdown has destroyed democracy, suspended constitutional rights, and resulted in over 400 extrajudicial deaths, with thousands of innocents jailed without trial while the real kingpins receive special privileges.
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