El Salvador president orders arrest of of bus company heads for defying free transport order

Source: Associated Press

El Salvador president orders arrest of of bus company heads for defying free transport order

By MARCOS ALEMÁN
Updated 10:59 PM EDT, May 5, 2025

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador President Nayib Bukele ordered police via social media on Monday to arrest five heads of bus companies in the Central American country after they defied his order to offer free transport for a week following a major highway closure.

The order was another example of Bukele’s heavy-handed tactics. The second-term leader has been accused of undermining democratic institutions, punishing dissenters and denying access to due process under a “state of emergency” that he declared in 2022 to battle the country’s powerful street gangs. Despite the crackdown, the government has denied the country is a police state.

On Sunday, Bukele had announced via X that all bus fares for a week would be completely free due to construction the government was carrying out on one of the main highways running through San Salvador.

The order resulted in widespread chaos on Monday, fueling long bus lines in the Salvadoran capital and overcrowded buses that skipped stops on a number of routes.

In response, Bukele ordered the capture of five heads of bus companies Monday, accusing them of “sabotaging the country.” ...

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-bukele-bus-arrests-c49ca0df2b3509cd8f9749f6ad09fdef