Nayib Bukele

Force in Play

Says the Haiti deployment is a rescue mission; threatened to wipe out the country's gangs

On October 18, gunmen attacked an armored vehicle carrying four Salvadoran air force technicians near Port-au-Prince. The four worked with a UN-backed anti-gang force; they fled the burning vehicle and were taken hostage.

Updated 2 days ago

New Capabilities

As of September 2026: Oversaw Bitcoin adoption; constrained by IMF program terms

Five years after El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender, its newest payments app runs on dollar stablecoins instead. On September 29, the government and Palo Alto startup Modveon launched Sivar, a $2 flat-fee US-to-El Salvador transfer service that settles on Coinbase's Base network.

Updated Sep 30

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Attended summit; seen as model for military anti-gang approach

The United States has not built a new military coalition in the Western Hemisphere since the Cold War. On March 7, President Trump gathered leaders from 12 Latin American nations in Miami to launch the 'Shield of the Americas,' a military-intelligence framework against drug cartels, and the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition—a 17-country pledge for lethal action against transnational criminal organizations.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Hosting foreign nationals at CECOT under agreement with U.S.

The Alien Enemies Act has been invoked only four times in American history—during the War of 1812, World War I, World War II, and now. In March 2025, President Trump became the first president to use the 1798 wartime statute outside of a declared war. He targeted alleged members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang and sent 137 men to El Salvador's maximum-security CECOT prison within 24 hours.

Updated May 27