Washington is putting a number on its affection for Nayib Bukele. On August 21, the State Department called the Salvadoran president "one of our most valued partners in the region" and confirmed the two countries are preparing a bilateral economic summit to build on their trade, security and migration ties. No date has been announced.
The praise lands on top of a relationship that already runs through nearly every arm of U.S. foreign policy, from tariffs to prison contracts to nuclear energy. It also arrives as human rights monitors are compiling one of the bleaker ledgers of Bukele's tenure, a tension the State Department's announcement does not address.
