• D.C.
  • BXL
  • Lagos
  • Riyadh
  • Beijing
  • SG
  • D.C.
  • BXL
  • Lagos
Semafor Logo
  • Riyadh
  • Beijing
  • SG


Flagship newsletter icon
From Semafor Flagship
In your inbox, every weekday
Sign up

US endorses Bukele law allowing indefinite presidential term

Aug 7, 2025, 6:34am EDT
PostEmailWhatsapp
President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

The US endorsed laws recently approved in El Salvador that will allow President Nayib Bukele to remain in power indefinitely.

The backing is part of broader plans by Washington to temper criticism of the Central American nation as well as Israel and Russia, as US President Donald Trump rethinks his country’s role in “global human rights advocacy,” The Washington Post reported.

Although the Trump administration says El Salvador has committed no human rights abuses in its campaign against organized crime, experts have noted that thousands have been jailed without a trial. As long as Trump remains in the White House, however, Bukele feels he has “free rein,” a Human Rights Watch expert told El País.

A chart showing El Salvador’s freedom index scores.
AD