Fighting the world’s ‘coolest dictator’

I’m sure some readers will be happy about that. Others will wonder: Is keeping aspiring, hard-working immigrants out of our country part of our inflation problem? Will it cost us down the road, when we are an older society without enough young workers? Not to mention draining America of its most vital resource: enterprising, endeavoring immigrants?

I truly appreciate hearing from you about policies like this. So please, let me know your thoughts at insidertoday@insider.com – I’ll share some of the replies soon.

— Nicholas Carlson

• Sam Bankman-Fried should listen to rap music and shave his head to prepare for prison, “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli said. More here.

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• A 22-year-old woman in Buffalo died after being trapped in her car for 18 hours during a blizzard, her family told local news. Here’s what happened.

Walber Rodriguez had just worked the overnight shift at a shrimp cooperative in the Bajo Lempa valley of El Salvador. He was driving the family motorcycle when he was pulled over, handcuffed, and imprisoned.

Scenes like this have been playing out since March, when President Nayib Bukele — who has called himself the world’s “coolest dictator” and is best known for adopting Bitcoin as a national currency — suspended certain constitutional rights.

This was ostensibly to deal with MS-13 and the rival Barrio 18 gang, which have terrorized El Salvador and made it one of the world’s most violent places not at war.

More than 60,000 people have been arrested since Bukele’s declaration, including Walber and other residents of his shrimp farming community.

Now, families in the community are striking back. They’ve joined protests, have been filing habeas corpus petitions, and are planning to sue their government in an international human rights court.

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