The Minister of Justice and Public Security of El Salvador, Gustavo Villatoro, participated this Monday (31) in a congress promoted by Fiesp in São Paulo, where he presented the crime-fighting model adopted by the Nayib Bukele government. During the event, Villatoro classified as "manipulation" the accusations of human rights violations made against the Central American country.
The minister defended the state of exception in force since 2022 as one of the main tools to combat criminal organizations and recover control of territories in El Salvador. Villatoro stated that the changes implemented by the Bukele government had popular support and even classified human rights defenders as "hypocrites."
The model implemented in El Salvador is the target of criticism from various entities that denounce arbitrary arrests, collective trials, and mistreatment of detainees. The minister, however, rejected these accusations and stated that the Salvadoran government has the support of the population itself, and not of international organizations.
Villatoro criticized international human rights organizations, declaring that the government is not interested in any of them, as none of these entities "puts a plate of food on the table" of the Salvadoran people. The Fiesp congress brought together authorities and experts to discuss public security strategies.
