El Salvador sets Feb 28 election as Bukele seeks third term

El Salvador last year amended its constitution to abolish presidential term limits and allow Bukele,who has been in power since 2019, to indefinitely seek re-election. The 45-year-old is a hero to many in his homeland and across Latin America for cracking down hard on gangs. Under a state of exception he declared in 2022, and which is still in effect, around 92,000 people, mostly young men, have been arrested and held, many without charge.

To clear the legal backlog, the courts have begun holding mass trials. Bukele’s offensive has reduced crime to historic lows but at the expense, NGOs say, of widespread human right abuses, including torture, that could constitute crimes against humanity.