Images source: AFP
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele defended his government's crackdown on gangs which has faced international criticism over human rights violations.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Bukele said that if his government listened to external critics, El Salvador would again be the world's murder capital. “The decisions we took were correct. We are no longer the world death capital and we achieved it in record time," Bukele said.
More than 72,000 people were arrested under a state of emergency Bukele requested in March last year following a surge in gang violence.
Critics have said there is no due process and thousands of innocent people have been swept up in the Bukele government's crackdown. Over 7,000 have been released for lack of evidence of gang ties.