Bukele confirms he can solve Haiti’s violence crisis

(CNN Spanish) — El Salvador President Nayib Bukele assured on Sunday that his government could solve the growing violence crisis in Haiti and that it would require “a UN Security Council resolution, the consent of the host country and covering all “Mission expenses.

The president published his opinion on Saturday in response to a user’s post on X, formerly Twitter, indicating that “Haiti has collapsed.”

Shortly after, Bukele responded to another post about the country’s most notorious gang leader, Jimmy Charizard, nicknamed “Barbeque”, saying, “We saw similar images in El Salvador a few years ago. Gangs were bathing with the skulls of their victims.”

The President of El Salvador, known for his country’s war against gangs, reiterated that, although “all the experts said that” these groups “could not be defeated, because they were an intrinsic part of our society, ” It was shown “They were wrong” and “We destroyed them.

Armed gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Charizier and his men in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 5, 2024 (Credit: Clarence Siffroy/AFP via Getty Images)

“The same should be done in Haiti,” he said.

The extraordinary regime promoted by Bukele for just under two years has been criticized by various analysts and international observers such as Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch, who have condemned systematic violations of human rights.

After his re-election, Bukele acknowledged that the El Salvador police may have made mistakes in implementing his government’s security policy, but he defended the security measures he had implemented.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said on Friday that a meeting of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) on Haiti is being held in Kingston, Jamaica this Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena are scheduled to attend, but it is unclear whether Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry will attend.

In 2023, El Salvador had already made itself available to Haiti to help reduce the crime rate.