Long Reads: El Salvador’s Jailer in Chief
In Nayib Bukele’s prison system, thousands have been detained without trial and hundreds have died.
March 27, 2026
59 min
1,827 of 1,867
March 27, 2026
Long Reads: El Salvador’s Jailer in Chief
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Jacobin Episodes Around March 27, 2026
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59:54This episodeLong Reads: El Salvador’s Jailer in Chief
Summary
<p>Donald Trump is a huge fan of Nayib Bukele, the current president of El Salvador. Last April, Bukele visited the White House and offered to help with a campaign of domestic repression in the United States. In El Salvador, which relies on US support, Bukele’s government has detained tens of thousands of people in mass arrests. Hundreds have died inside their notorious prison system.</p>
<p>Our guest today for a conversation about El Salvador under Bukele is Hilary Goodfriend. Hilary is a postdoctoral researcher at UNAM in Mexico City and she writes about Salvadorean politics for <em>Jacobin</em>.</p>
<p>Read Hilary’s article “An Infinite State of Exception in Nayib Bukele’s El Salvador” here: <a href="https://jacobin.com/2026/01/el-salvador-us-bukele-trump-authoritarianism" rel="nofollow">https://jacobin.com/2026/01/el-salvador-us-bukele-trump-authoritarianism</a></p>
<p><em>Long Reads</em> is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.</p>
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