The meeting between President Trump and President Bukele included a revealing joke about imprisonment and liberation, highlighting the serious nature of U.S.-El Salvador relations. While discussing the goals of eradicating terrorism and fostering prosperity, the dialog hints at a darker history of U.S. involvement in repression. The article underscores the ironic situation where El Salvador's past provides lessons for the U.S. and warns of the potential consequences of viewing such carceral policies only through a narrow lens of gang violence and immigration.
"Sometimes they say that we imprisoned thousands, I like to say that we actually liberated millions.... To liberate 350 million you have to imprison some."
"Looming above the meeting is possibility that Trump will expand El Salvador's traditional role as a laboratory for US and global repression."
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