El Salvador's Bukele: closer to Beijing, distant from Washington

Jul 09, 2021 9:02 4 min read (Updated: Jul 09, 2021 9:03)

When Nayib Bukele took office as president of El Salvador two years ago, one of his first goals was to establish a positive relationship with Washington. That included cooperation with the U.S. on migration enforcement, for which the Central American leader demanded more American investment in his country and continued humanitarian efforts to protect over 200,000 Salvadorans living in the U.S.

The similarities between Mr. Bukele and his then-American counterpart, Donald Trump, suggested that relations between the two countries could run smoothly. After a very positive visit with Mr. Trump in August 2019, Mr. Bukele proclaimed El Salvador’s

Bukele: closer to Beijing, distant from Washington

Nayib Bukele, the increasingly powerful president of El Salvador, is gambling on a risky strategy of rapprochement with Beijing

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