Nayib Bukele no longer hides his contempt for the rules of the democratic game. Recently, he made it clear that he doesn’t mind being called a dictator; he says that he prefers this title rather than for Salvadorans to be killed in the streets. With complete impudence, he stated that for him, democracy, human rights, and legality are nothing more than ornaments, obstacles that interrupt his crusade: an all-out, limitless war against insecurity.

However, if El Salvador is already «the safest country in the Americas,» as Bukele himself claims, why then are human rights defenders like Ruth López and Fidel Zavala being imprisoned? Why are people still being detained without evidence, without trial, and, in many cases, without reason? Why is a state of emergency in place that suspends fundamental rights as if the country were at war?

The answer is simple: security has never been the real goal. It’s merely the rhetoric used to justify absolute control. Insecurity is the perfect excuse to silence critical voices, crush civil society, and label anyone who doesn’t applaud the government as an enemy of the people.

The most worrying thing is that many people are indifferent. It’s true that a portion of the population no longer cares about democracy or justice. What they want is for someone to pay for the violence that El Salvador endured, even if there’s insufficient evidence. They’re content with the feeling that finally «something is being done,» even if that means violating the dignity of thousands of people. Bukele has managed to transform this desire for punishment into a state policy. And, sadly, that strategy is working for him.

Yes, the gang era was terrible. But now we’re entering an era where there’s no separation of powers, where a single person holds absolute power, and where you can end up in prison simply for criticizing Nayib Bukele’s decisions.

Make no mistake, what’s at stake isn’t a choice between dictatorship or criminality. It’s a choice between revenge and justice. Between punishment as a political spectacle and true respect for the law. Because when abuse of power becomes normal, when authoritarianism is celebrated, when punishment is based more on suspicion than on evidence, then no one is safe in El Salvador, not even Bukele’s most loyal followers.