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El Salvador went from being world's most dangerous country to among safest: President
El Salvador’s president addressed the UN General Assembly in a speech in which he highlighted that his country went from being known as the most dangerous place in the world “to being on its way to becoming the safest country in the Americas,” the Anadolu Agency reported.
Earlier in July, a survey said that 90% of the Salvadorans expressed not having been victims of crime.
The results of the security plans implemented by the president, Nayib Bukele, to combat gangs and other criminal structures have meant that El Salvador is positioned as the best evaluated among 12 Latin American countries, surpassing nations such as Costa Rica, Mexico, and Colombia.
Nayib Bukele said in his speech that those who knew the country before, “knew it for the gangs, for the deaths, for the violence, for the war.”
“We went from that to being a country known for its beaches, for its volcanoes, for its financial freedom, for its good government and for having put an end to organized crime,” Bukele said in his speech, which he delivered in front of his 3-year-old daughter and wife, who accompanied him to the diplomatic event held in New York City.
In recent decades, the history of El Salvador has been marked by gang violence, with the country suffering from one of the highest homicide and crime rates in the world.
But since Bukele came to power, El Salvador implements strong security measures endorsed by the Constitution, such as the emergency regime that after four months has allowed the imprisonment of more than 47,000 gang members who were the ones who caused anxiety and insecurity in neighborhoods and communities and who could now face at least 20 years in prison just for being gang members.
6,000 gang members arrested in first nine days of a state of emergency in El Salvador
The move has drawn alarm from rights groups, who see the measure as an opportunity for Bukele's government to curb individual liberties.
In his speech, Bukele also asked powerful countries not to "get in the way" if they do not want to help El Salvador achieve the freedom it is still struggling to obtain.
If backed, El Salvador would be first in the world to formally adopt Bitcoin
He also said that in his opinion, the format of the UN General Assembly is "obsolete."
"I came here to stand on this podium in a format in which I no longer believe, to say something that most likely will not change the way in which powerful countries see the others," he said in his 18-minute speech.
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