In a disturbing escalation of tensions between the media and the government of El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele’s administration is reportedly preparing to arrest several journalists from the acclaimed digital news outlet El Faro. The alleged arrests are tied to the publication of a groundbreaking interview with two former gang leaders, revealing shocking details about Bukele’s covert power-sharing arrangement with gangs.
According to El Faro, a reliable source within El Salvador’s Attorney General’s Office confirmed that at least seven arrest warrants are being prepared for the outlet’s journalists. This comes after the outlet aired an interview with two leaders from the 18th Street Revolucionarios gang, who provided new insights into their long-running relationship with the Bukele administration.
This would mark the first time in decades that prosecutors have sought to charge journalists for their work, a move that raises serious concerns over press freedom in the country. The interview, which aired on El Faro, highlighted how Bukele, self-styled as the “world’s coolest dictator,” allegedly struck a deal with criminal gangs to secure political power. The footage of gang members acknowledging the pact has shocked the nation and internationally, especially because it contrasts with the Bukele administration’s public stance against gangs.
One of the key figures in the interview, a former gang leader known as “Liro Man,” revealed how he and another gang leader, “Charli,” were able to escape El Salvador with the help of Bukele’s negotiator, Carlos Marroquín. Both men provided damning testimony about how they were part of a hidden arrangement that allowed Bukele to rise to power. Their escape was made possible through clandestine routes and official complicity, with one gang leader being arrested only to be released swiftly after a phone call.
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In their interview with El Faro, the two ex-gang leaders recounted how the FMLN political party, to which Bukele once belonged, secretly funneled money to gangs during the 2014 election campaign to secure votes. The interview revealed how gang members used threats of violence to coerce communities into voting for Bukele, paving his way to becoming mayor of San Salvador.
One of the most shocking elements of this deal was the “no body, no crime” policy. In exchange for hiding the bodies of murder victims, Bukele’s government was able to claim a historic reduction in homicides during a time when El Salvador was known as the murder capital of the world. The interview reveals how gang leaders concealed crimes in return for political power, and this was something Bukele allegedly kept hidden from the public eye.
The El Faro investigation contradicts the Bukele administration’s narrative of fighting gangs and cracking down on criminal activity. Liro Man stated, “We’ve wanted to talk about this for a long time, for the simple reason that the government beats their chests and says, ‘We’re anti-gang, we don’t want this scourge.’ But they forgot that they made a deal with us, and you were the first to get this out.”
📹 El Faro interviewed two 18th Street Revolucionarios gang leaders who not only cut deals for years with the entourage of Nayib Bukele, but also escaped the country with the complicity of his government. This is the first time that gang leaders reveal on camera details about the… pic.twitter.com/awymvYCUDt
— El Faro English (@elfaroenglish) May 5, 2025
In response to the looming arrests, Argentinian journalist Eliezer Budasoff condemned the Bukele government for trying to silence El Faro, calling the outlet’s investigation a “threat to the myths” Bukele has built around his administration. These actions, which include false accusations of money laundering, surveillance of El Faro staff with spyware, and the banning of journalists from press briefings, demonstrate the growing authoritarianism of the Bukele regime.
Responding to the interview that triggered the arrests, Bukele posted on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, stating, “It’s clear that a country at peace, without deaths, without extortion, without bloodshed, without corpses every day, without mothers mourning their children, is not profitable for human rights NGOs, nor for the globalist media, nor for the elites, nor for [George] Soros.”
The El Faro reporting is how we know among those kidnapped by the U.S. and sent to CECOT are some actual gang members who were set to be indicted in the U.S. and possibly testify to Bukele's deals with them. I did a deep dive about this here: https://t.co/p5LHGmvs4h https://t.co/EMd51eUXWO
— Francesca Fiorentini – is on Bluesky 🖕 (@franifio) May 4, 2025
The crackdown on the press is seen by many as an attempt to stifle dissent and control the narrative. As El Faro editors put it, “Every citizen must decide for themselves whether they want to be informed or whether they prefer the blind loyalty this administration has demanded of its supporters since its first day in power.”
With El Salvador’s press freedom under attack, the world must ask: Will international pressure stop this authoritarian crackdown, or will Bukele succeed in silencing the voices that dare to expose his controversial dealings? Only time will tell, but one thing is clear—the future of independent journalism in El Salvador is hanging by a thread.
