(LifeSiteNews) — El Salvador President Nayib Bukele eloquently defended his criminal policies, telling offenders that they must repent of their sins.
During an October 1 visit to Argentina, the pro-life leader defended his crackdown on crime, explaining he will not open the prisons and put innocent citizens at risk, but that criminals must repent of their sins.
“I am a person of faith, I believe that God can forgive everyone,” Bukele explained. “I know that if the offender repents, he will go to heaven like any other sinner. But that is God’s responsibility.”
“Here on earth, that criminal must be in prison. Because we already trusted him to the streets and he decapitated three people,” he added.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 7, 2024
Bukele’s merciful but strict remark came in response to harsh attacks from mainstream media and politicians for his crackdown on gangs in El Salvador.
Bukele was decried by foreign media outlets as a “threat to democracy” after imprisoning more than 72,000 gang members and drug peddlers since coming to power in 2019. But data indicates that the homicide rate per 100,000 people in El Salvador went from 53 to less than three from 2018 to 2023, making it the safest country in the region.
While woke Western politicians condemn Bukele’s criminal policy, the United States and Europe are overrun with violent illegal immigrants who rape and murder young girls on their way home from school.
In June, the United States was shocked to learn that two illegal migrants had lured a 12-year-old girl under bridge where they assaulted her for two hours before killing her. Lax immigration and criminal laws have led to similar attacks.
In fact, France recently heeded the “far right’s call to be tougher on immigration” after the arrest of a Moroccan man suspected of murdering a 19-year-old woman in Paris.
Indeed, while mainstream media decries Bukele’s leadership, the people of El Salvador seem to tell a different story. In February, Bukele won re-election in a landslide, capturing 85% of the vote. In a defiant victory speech aimed at Western elites who labeled him a human rights abuser, he exclaimed, “We, the people of El Salvador, decide how we want to govern ourselves.”
Bukele has supported several unique policies since assuming the presidency. In September 2021, Bitcoin was made legal tender. During COVID, his government distributed ivermectin and encouraged exercise and vitamins. He has also refused to allow legalization of euthanasia and “same-sex marriage.”
In February, El Salvador’s education department announced that “gender ideology” would be removed from public schools. In July 2023, Bukele screened the anti-child trafficking film Sound of Freedom at the Presidential Theater. He then added his signature to an anti-human trafficking measure.