After the circulation of a security camera video showing a woman being assaulted and robbed in Colonia Miramonte, San Salvador, President Nayib Bukele publicly questioned the international focus on criminals’ rights instead of those of the victims. The suspect, Fernando Josué Gálvez Manzano, a Honduran national, was captured thanks to the swift action of El Salvador’s National Civil Police.
Security Minister Mauricio Villatoro confirmed the arrest, stating, “We will show no mercy to any criminal who tries to take away the peace of good Salvadorans. This individual must now answer to the law.” He emphasized that the Salvadoran government is determined to remove criminals from the streets.
President Bukele later addressed the broader debate surrounding human rights in cases like this. “No one disputes that this criminal has human rights, of course he does,” Bukele said. “What surprises me is that no NGO, politician, or international body ever shows concern for the human rights of the woman who was assaulted. Instead, they defend the criminal’s rights: that he should be given chicken and meat in prison, that he should be allowed to go free to rob again, that he should remain free during his trial. Why? To harm more innocent women? Why defend the criminal’s rights and not those of the victims? What is the goal?”
The incident has reignited a national conversation about public security, justice, and the balance of human rights in El Salvador, at a time when the government continues to push for tougher measures against crime.