US dampens criticism of El Salvador’s president as migration overtakes democracy concerns

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and MARCOS ALEMAN
Associated Press

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — The Biden administration has sent a high-level delegation to El Salvador to attend President Nayib Bukele’s inauguration to a second term. The delegation led by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is a sharp break from the White House’s past criticism of Bukele’s strong-armed governing style. The 42-year-old Bukele’s inauguration was Saturday. He was reelected with 85% of the vote and is wildly popular at home for his frontal attack on powerful gangs that is credited with a more than 60% drop in migration from the Central American country to the U.S. Washington sanctioned several of Bukele’s top aides and cut foreign assistance after Biden took office.