El Salvador's Bukele announces 'war' against corruption after gang crackdown

World

Published: 2023-06-02 12:13

Last Updated: 2024-04-23 23:53


El Salvador's Bukele announces 'war' against corruption after gang crackdown
El Salvador's Bukele announces 'war' against corruption after gang crackdown

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announces a "war" against corruption during a speech to Congress to mark his fourth year in office. Bukele, who took office in 2019, stuck to his promise to tackle one of the world's highest murder rates, jailing tens of thousands of suspected gang members along the way.

He said: "Just as we have fought gangs head-on, with the full force of the state, with all the legal tools we have, without hesitation, we will also launch a head-on war against corruption."

"But not only will we use all our legal tools to wage this war, but just as we built a prison for terrorists, we will also build a prison for the corrupt," he continued.

He also said: "We will go after every corrupt person in this country, we will force them to pay for the damage they have done to the Salvadoran people in the same way we are eradicating the gangs, in the same way we will not hesitate to eradicate corruption."