El Salvador VP acknowledges mistakes in war on gangs but says country is ‘not a police state’

By MEGAN JANETSKY
Associated Press

SAN SALVADOR (AP) — Félix Ulloa, temporarily on leave as El Salvador’s vice president while he runs for reelection alongside Nayib Bukele, has denied accusations that their administration has made undemocratic moves to consolidate power. He defended their controversial policies in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, days before elections he and Bukele are expected to easily win. Ulloa conceded that “we have made errors” in the government’s mass detentions of citizens as part of its crackdown on gangs. He said their administration had detained thousands of people who had not committed any crime – something he said they are correcting – but justified harsh actions as being widely popular and completely “legal.”