Bullrich tells Bukele she wants to replicate his security plan in Argentina

Bullrich tells Bukele she wants to replicate his security plan in Argentina

Argentina’s Security Minister Patricia Bullrich told El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele Friday in Washington DC at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) summit that “we want to follow the model you are carrying out” to tackle crime. Argentine President Javier Milei is scheduled to speak Saturday at this event after meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Buenos Aires.

Bullrich posted on her X account a video of the dialogue she held with Bukele, during which she praised Bukele for lowering “crime as you have done and still endure criticism when you have saved millions and millions of lives, the truth is unbelievable.”

“We really want to work and see what you have done. We put a lot of effort into it and we need to get to that place too. And we are going to get there. We are making an important change in Argentina,” Bullrich told Bukele.

“We are at your service for whatever you need,” replied Bukele who has repeatedly praised the Argentine Libertarian leader Milei.

Bukele has argued in the case of Argentina since the problem of violence is smaller, “the medicine could be smaller” too. “I believe that all countries have differences and it is clear that El Salvador is not the United Kingdom, the same could be said that El Salvador is not Argentina either. There are differences, even the security problem in Argentina, which exists, is perhaps not as pressing as it was in El Salvador and, therefore, the measures that can be shared on our part, suddenly do not need to be so drastic,” Bukele stressed while reckoning the similarities stemming from the fact that the two nations “are Latin American” and criminality is a consequence “of poverty.”

Under Bukele, all constitutional guarantees have been suspended since March 2022 in El Salvador to implement the government’s security plan against gangs. This measure, widely supported by the population in polls, allows the police to detain any person without an arrest warrant and hold them in detention for at least 15 days before they are brought before a court. This regime has been extended 22 times in Congress for 30-day periods. The right to defense of detainees and the privacy of communications are also on hold.

Milei and former President Donald Trump are scheduled to appear at the CPAC event on Saturday but at different times. Hence, no meeting between the two of them is expected to take place.

“Queremos seguir o modelo que vocês estão levando adiante.” Esta foi a reunião entre Patricia Bullrich, ministra da segurança de Milei, e o presidente Nayib Bukele em Washington, DC durante @CPAC . Você apoia este tremendo encontro histórico? pic.twitter.com/f6ht0ArIpI

— Francisca (@FranciscaBadar1) February 23, 2024