El Salvador

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

February 7, 2024Elections

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.

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

June 26, 2023Conflict & Justice

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

May 3, 2023Leaders

People sit along Bitcoin Beach in El Zonte, El Salvador.

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

April 27, 2023Economics

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

November 2, 2022Books

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

March 28, 2022Violence

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.

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

September 16, 2021Top of The World

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.

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

September 8, 2021Business, Economics and Jobs

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.

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

September 7, 2021Top of The World

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.

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

June 9, 2021Top of The World

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.