Matt Gaetz looked impressed as he stood in the echoing corridor of the prison.

“There’s a lot more discipline in this prison than we see in many prisons in the United States,” said Gaetz, then a congressman and now President-elect Donald Trump’s announced pick for U.S. attorney general.

It was July, and Gaetz, who would oversee the Federal Bureau of Prisons if attorney general, was visiting. El Salvador’s notorious Confinement Center for Terrorism (Cecot)Where gang leaders and murderers are imprisoned and never released.

The prison is a concrete manifestation of the harsh rule of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who is often castigated by human rights groups for not abiding by the norm. widely credited in his country To bring safety back to the streets.

Gaetz added that “this is the solution” for El Salvador: In a video published by Bukele. “We think that good ideas in El Salvador actually have legs and can go to other places and help other people be safe, secure, hopeful and prosperous.”

Last month, CNN became the first major US news organization to be granted access to Cecot on a private tour; He saw the recently built fortress, where both the convicts and some of the men still on trial spent 23.5 hours a day in gloomy group cells, eating a light meal without meat. Go on a diet and set aside just 30 minutes a day for exercise or Bible study.

This is the transformation of the upstart in El Salvador that Bukele achieved by subverting the system, giving new powers to law enforcement under a permanent state of emergency, taking his candidates to the Supreme Court, and then asking the Supreme Court to allow him to run. part of it. second term, which was previously unconstitutional. Bukele is well aware of the positive and negative emotions he evokes and describes himself as “The coolest dictator in the world” and now “philosopher king” in the X biography.

Trump has at times both praised and condemned Bukele; While in the White House, he praised his cooperation with El Salvador’s then-new leader, but criticized Bukele when he left power and focused on immigration, saying he was sending criminals to the United States. WE.

But Gaetz seems like a total fan. HE He told Time Magazine He considered Bukele a “kindred spirit,” and the two greeted each other warmly as Gaetz led other congressmen to Bukele’s office during his July visit. That trip came just a month later Gaetz, Donald Trump Jr. and others traveled To Bukele’s second inauguration.

Gaetz was established congressional El Salvador caucus in July with Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, at a time when bipartisanship is rare.

I’m announcing the new group In the House of Representatives, Gaetz said: “Inspired by El Salvador’s astonishing transformation, America’s great revival can also become a reality, so that we can experience the triumphant return of security and prosperity to which we once inspired others.”

If interviews and Senate confirmation hearings are held for the attorney general position, Gaetz could be asked about his thoughts on Bukele’s approach to crime and criminal justice and how that might affect his position as attorney general. The United States might even propose testing the El Salvador model in Central and South America, where violence and instability drive most immigrants toward the relative safety and prosperity of the United States; but there will likely be strong opposition within and outside these countries.

Last week, even the State Department dropped travel warning Citing a “significant decrease” in the crime rate for El Salvador, Bukele also warned that the state of emergency allows authorities to “arrest anyone suspected of gang activity and suspend various constitutional rights.”

The Salvadoran president wasted no time in congratulating Gaetz on Trump’s AG pick. airing on X“I knew you were destined to do great things, my friend.”

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