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LatinNews Regional Monitor: Caribbean & Central America - 22 August 2018
El Salvador: Renewed concerns about gang links to top politicians
El Salvador’s most popular politician, Nayib Bukele, the charismatic former mayor of San Salvador (2015-2018), has been confirmed as presidential candidate for the right-of-centre opposition Gran Alianza por la Unidad Nacional ahead of the February 2019 presidential election. Ahead of the contest, Bukele, who broke with the ruling Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN) in 2017, remains the clear frontrunner. At the end of June however, a local investigative news site El Faro published a report which purported to detail a constant line of communication and negotiations between his mayoral office and gangs in the capital city. Bukele has responded to the piece by El Faro (which he claims to respect), accusing it of “mixing lies and the truth”. However, with ties between gangs and the the two main political parties, FMLN and main right-wing opposition Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (Arena), having previously emerged, the claims could well cause some discomfort for Bukele ahead of the vote if an investigation is launched.
