The Duterte comparison is apt. Both Duterte and Bukele are populist demagogues whose rule is tied more closely to public appearance than governmental association. Both have been scornful of legal procedure and have championed vigilante violence. It's not like El Salvador (or the Philippines) descended into chaos just recently and it's not like we didn't train death squads in both countries. El Salvador is probably at a thousand or so extrajudicial murders so far;; the Philippines under Duterte probably murdered around 30k. The talking heads are dumb. The State Department always insists on democratic reforms while funding and harboring the CIA's worst tendencies. We prrrrrobbbbbably? don't have anything of the scope and scandal of Operation Condor but the odds are good that the 2023 map looks pretty much the same as the 2010 map .