El Salvador's Minister of Justice and Public Security, Gustavo Villatoro, defended on Monday (31st), during an event at the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp), President Nayib Bukele's security model as a war strategy against criminal organizations that, according to him, had created a "parallel criminal state" in the country. Villatoro attributed the retaking of control over gang-dominated territories to the state of exception decreed in 2022, the toughening of laws, and changes in the Judiciary's actions.
The minister criticized those he called "pseudo-human rights defenders" who question the Salvadoran model. During the lecture, Villatoro presented the state of exception, in effect since March 2022, which allowed the mass arrest of suspects without a court order and the implementation of the territorial control plan.
The Salvadoran experience has served as inspiration for right-wing candidates in Brazil. Flavio Bolsonaro (PL) met with Villatoro on Sunday, while Sergio Moro (PL), a candidate for governor of Paraná, was present at the event. Moro announced that he intends to name the maximum security prison he promises to build "El Salvador" if elected.
