El Salvador

Vendors sell images of President Nayib Bukele during El Salvador's election campaign.

Nayib Bukele’s popularity steers him toward an unprecedented second term as president of El Salvador

In El Salvador, the official results of Sunday’s presidential elections are still not in, but that didn’t stop President Nayib Bukele from declaring victory on social media — and he looks slated to win. He was up for reelection, in a country that doesn't allow reelection in its constitution. Bukele is extraordinarily popular. But many say the future is concerning.

Nayib Bukele’s popularity steers him toward an unprecedented second term as president of El Salvador
A police officer searches and checks the documents of a man living in the Kiwanis Community, during a preventive patrol in search of gang members in Soyapango, El Salvador, Aug. 16, 2022, amid a state of exception.

El Salvador imprisons dozens of foreign visitors in crackdown on crime

El Salvador imprisons dozens of foreign visitors in crackdown on crime
On May 1, two large marches weaved across San Salvador in commemoration of International Workers Day. 

El Salvador president's popularity soars with controversial approach to crime

El Salvador president's popularity soars with controversial approach to crime
People sit along Bitcoin Beach in El Zonte, El Salvador.

El Salvador's bitcoin experiment rides on choppy seas as currency fluctuates

El Salvador's bitcoin experiment rides on choppy seas as currency fluctuates
The cover to "Solito" by Javier Zamora.

New memoir speaks to the trauma of migration and the potential for healing

New memoir speaks to the trauma of migration and the potential for healing
A young man is detained by the police, a suspect in a homicide near a market in San Salvador, El Salvador

El Salvador declares state of emergency amid killings

El Salvador's congress has granted President Nayib Bukele authority to declare a state of emergency amid gang-related killings over the weekend. The country saw a scale of violence that's not been seen in many years.

El Salvador declares state of emergency amid killings
In this photo provided by US Navy, the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Illinois (SSN 786) returns home to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam from a deployment in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility

Aukus security pact sparks Chinese and French ire

China and France have condemned the new Aukus security pact between Australia, the UK and the US to build nuclear-powered submarines in the Indo-Pacific region. Also, French forces say they've killed the leader of ISIS in the Greater Sahara in Mali. And thousands of people protested the introduction of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador on the nation's bicentennial.

Aukus security pact sparks Chinese and French ire
A bank machine is shown in a small building with blue lighting with two people sitting on a bench nearby.

Early stumble as El Salvador starts Bitcoin as currency

El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender Tuesday, but the rollout stumbled in its first hours after the digital wallet used for transactions was not functioning.

Early stumble as El Salvador starts Bitcoin as currency
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is shown looking to his right while walking and wearing a dark face mask with a solider stands in the distance.

US top diplomats visit Persian Gulf to reassure allies

Top of The World: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are in Qatar for talks aimed at reassuring Gulf allies that the Biden administration is not abandoning its partners in the Middle East by withdrawing from Afghanistan. And, the pre-trial of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is set to resume at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. Also, El Salvador has become the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.

US top diplomats visit Persian Gulf to reassure allies
An array of bitcoins

El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to make bitcoin legal tender

El Salvador becomes first country to approve bitcoin as a legal currency. And, US President Joe Biden begins the first overseas trip of his term in the UK, hoping to repair relations with Europe. Also, Nicaragua's National Police continues arrests of potential challengers for the upcoming November presidential elections.

El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to make bitcoin legal tender
Harris at the podium in Guatemala on a diplomatic visit

Addressing migration requires long-term commitment, says analyst on Harris visit to Guatemala

About $13 billion are squandered as a result of corruption in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, says Adriana Beltran, an analyst with The Washington Office on Latin America.

Addressing migration requires long-term commitment, says analyst on Harris visit to Guatemala
A large scenic river with sloping mountains on either side.

An unlikely eco-alliance in postwar El Salvador

A new book describes how environmental activists in El Salvador brought conservatives and progressives together to institute a nationwide ban on metal mining in 2017. The World’s Marco Werman spoke with attorney Luis Parada, who led El Salvador’s defense team in a mining lawsuit at the World Bank, and Robin Broad, a co-author of the book, "The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved A Country from Corporate Greed."

An unlikely eco-alliance in postwar El Salvador
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is shown wearing a dark suit and purple tie with the logo for the White House behind him.

Homeland Security chief defends US handling of migrant increase at border

Faced with a rising number of migrants at the southwest border and criticism from all sides, the Biden administration's head of Homeland Security insisted Tuesday that the situation is under control as he defended a policy of allowing children crossing by themselves to remain in the country.

Homeland Security chief defends US handling of migrant increase at border
A man is shown holding a sign that reads "Not 1 more deportation" while speaking to Joe Biden who is holding a microphone.

Biden expands quick bid to undo Trump's immigration policies

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced steps to address harm to thousands of families that were separated at the US-Mexico border, expanding efforts to quickly undo relentless changes to immigration policy over the last four years.

Biden expands quick bid to undo Trump's immigration policies
A Honduran migrant woman carries a child on her back as they travel with other migrants by foot along a highway in Chiquimula, Guatemala,  Jan. 16, 2021, in hopes of reaching the U.S. border

How the Biden administration might undo some of Trump's immigration policies

The incoming Biden administration has said it will overturn policies such as the bilateral agreements the Trump administration made with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to keep asylum-seekers away from the US-Mexico border.

How the Biden administration might undo some of Trump's immigration policies