Welcome to "The New Monroe Doctrine," where I give you an update on what's going on in the Western Hemisphere, south of our border, especially as it relates to the United States.
Y'all seem to be enjoying Nayib Bukele lately, so let's talk more about El Salvador this week. Plus, I have some potential good news out of Venezuela that just dropped as I'm writing this, and I'll tell you what happened when Gustavo Petro came to town on Tuesday.
When You Tackle Corruption, Something Great Happens
Bukele has made many headlines over the last few days. On Thursday, he spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast alongside Donald Trump, urging leaders to pray to God for wisdom like King Solomon did and said that's what it took for him to be able to turn El Salvador from the so-called "murder capital of the world" to one of the safest countries in the Western Hemisphere. You can read more about that here: Bukele Wows the Crowd — and Trump — at the National Prayer Breakfast.
While we often associate Bukele with what he did for El Salvador's crime problem, we ignore some of the other numerous things he's done to turn the country around. Before he became president, the country's economy was in shambles, infrastructure was crumbling, there were neighborhoods that you just didn't go into, and the nation's youngest residents didn't stand a chance. That's changing.
If, for some reason, you happen to follow any Salvadoran government social media accounts, you saw quite a different story this week. The country's school year started on February 2, and the pictures and videos from these first days are absolutely breathtaking.
There are about 1.2 million public school students in El Salvador, and every single one of them received a back-to-school kit to start the year. Kids in grades fourth and up got laptops, while younger students got tablets. They came preloaded with programs like Google Classroom, Microsoft Office 365, Platzi (for English and skills certification), and anti-theft tracking. Other items included were school uniforms, shoes, books, crayons, pencils, paint, and other supplies personalized to each child's needs and grade level.
Just watch this precious little boy unbox his school supplies:
But these kids aren't just receiving school supplies. They're getting new schools. In 2022, Bukele created an education reform program called Mi Nueva Escuela or "My New School," and part of that included remodeling 5,150 schools over five years. All of the schools would have "free internet, new infrastructure and furniture, audiobooks, braille and sensory books."
Before the 2026 school year started, Bukele inaugurated 70 newly renovated schools. So far, he's done 504, and last year began speeding up the process.
Mi Nueva Escuela also ensures children have access to nutritious food and health care at school, advanced technology, and high-quality teachers who have gone through additional training. And it involved getting rid of El Salvador's outdated, rigid curricula and replacing them with something holistic that actually matches how children learn and will ultimately lead to better outcomes.
First Lady Gabriela de Bukele has been heavily involved with this, particularly when it comes to early childhood education. In January, she rolled out the new curriculum for younger students that incorporates more structured play, exploration, and creativity, and encourages better emotional and social development and, eventually, more well-rounded adults.
They also removed all gender ideology and inclusive language from school curricula, as well as any other content seen as advancing woke agendas. Schools must focus on learning, respect, order, and responsibility instead of any progressive nonsense.
Kids are also expected to come to school looking respectful in their uniforms, and boys must have short, clean haircuts that can't be mistaken for gang-affiliated ones. Furthermore, they must greet their principals and teachers respectfully upon arrival.
Basically, Bukele and his team are creating schools that students actually want to attend. They're also creating schools that raise well-adjusted adults and not gang members.
I know what you're probably thinking. BIG GOVERNMENT! PUBLIC SCHOOLS! RAISING TAXES! HOW IS HE PAYING FOR THIS? IT MUST BE SOCIALISM! Calm down, and I'll tell you.
The governments that were in place before Bukele and his party — particularly the far-left Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) — left the education program fractured and in debt, but Bukele has a mantra: "The money is enough when nobody steals."
The reason why these programs were so broken is that those leaders were taking the money and putting it in their own pockets. FMLN mismanaged budgets and embezzled funds, leaving the country's schools in deplorable condition. One thing Bukele did when he came into office was implement strong anti-corruption measures and laws that weeded out things like government grift and kickbacks. He also prosecuted corrupt holdovers from previous administrations and eliminated wasteful contracts. This reportedly saved the country hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, depending on who you ask, much of which he put back into education.
But that's only the start. His crackdown on gangs and civilian crime also helped. When you have fewer criminals on the streets, you don't need as much money for security, so he was able to funnel some of that cash back into education. Oh, and guess who's renovating these schools in many cases and even building the furniture? Some of El Salvador's prison population. This saves money on labor and helps with prisoner rehabilitation.
The final piece of the payment puzzle is private sector partnerships. Businesses don't want to invest in the education of children who will just grow up to become gang members, but they are willing to invest in the education of children who will grow up to be viable members of society. Google for Education, for example, has helped with teacher training and cloud infrastructure. Telecom firms have stepped in and offered subsidized data plans for connectivity. Big tech companies helped with the tablets and laptops.
In December, Bukele and Elon Musk reached a two-year deal that would allow students access to Grok AI for personalized tutoring.
Each student in El Salvador gets a free laptop AND will have access to the world's first nationwide tutoring program powered by Grok Ai! 👏🇸🇻pic.twitter.com/qlo0Bcbfr5
— Salvadoran Pride (@SalvadoranPride) February 4, 2026
As I wrote earlier this week, one of the big reasons why Latin America is swinging to the right is crime. People in other countries have seen how Bukele has handled cartels, gangs, murder, drug trafficking, extortion, etc., and they want leaders who will do the same, rather than become part of the corruption. Feeling safe in your own community is obviously the biggest benefit of this, but it often leads to other unexpected plot twists, like the ability to overhaul your entire education system and give your country's youngest generation the fighting chance their parents and grandparents never had.
It makes El Salvador better. It makes the United States, which has long been a destination for Salvadoran gang members, better. It makes our entire hemisphere better.
Petro Comes to the White House and... Meh.
I was really looking forward to this, thinking that there might be at least a little drama.
Colombia's commie cokehead president, the one who can't stop talking about how great in bed he is, came to town this week. Petro showed up at the White House on Tuesday to meet with Trump, but to be honest, it wasn't all that exciting. It was all closed to the press, and both presidents left it saying nice things about each other and how they promised to cooperate more on drug trafficking and other security measures. Petro didn't even stand out on the streets of D.C. and call for a coup like he did in New York in September. I'm shocked!
The only thing kind of funny is that Trump had Petro enter through a side door, so there was no grand production like other heads of state receive. However, he did send el presidente home with some parting gifts, which Petro was quick to post on X. It's funny how all the leftist leaders in Latin America are suddenly acting all MAGA, figuratively, and, in this case, literally.
"Gustavo: Un gran Honor.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) February 3, 2026
Amor a Colombia". Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/1Tl7eIbAPr
This one's caption says, "I proposed to Donald Trump a change in fashion: putting an 'S' on America. It seems he liked it. Americas."
Le propuse a Donald Trump un cambio en la moda: ponerle una "S" a América.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) February 3, 2026
Parece que le gustó. Américas. pic.twitter.com/hdJbENRHZh
My thinking is this: Petro is out of office this summer. Colombia holds elections in May, and his time is up. I think Petro asked for this meeting because he wants Trump to lift the personal sanctions on him so that he can do whatever it is he plans to do post-presidency. I think Marco Rubio probably encouraged this meeting so that they could tell Petro that those elections better be free and fair — no funny business over the next three or four months. I also think it just further proves that taking out Nicolás Maduro gave Trump a lot of leverage with these socialist holdouts in Latin America.
All Political Prisoners By Next Week? Let's Be Cautiously Optimistic
Another unexpected "plot twist" just happened in Venezuela while I was writing this. Jorge Rodríguez, a key member of the Maduro regime, brother of the current "acting president," Delcy Rodríguez, and the man who serves as the so-called "President of the National Assembly," promises that all of Venezuela's political prisoners will be free next week.
He was outside a detention center in Caracas on Friday, and he told families that after the new amnesty bill passes, which is expected on Tuesday, all remaining political prisoners will be freed.
I've been trying to keep a count for y'all over the last month. As of Thursday, I believe 383 prisoners are confirmed released, with hundreds still detained — some organizations are now reporting that there could be 800 or more still imprisoned, as some went unreported previously.
Either way, we need to take this with a grain of salt. After all, it was Jorge who said on January 8 that a "significant number" would be released, and it's taken a month for them to get to 383. But, as I reported earlier this week, Trump and Marco Rubio had a phone call with Ms. Delcy last Thursday before their Cabinet meeting, and ever since, things have been rolling at a much faster pace than they were in the early days after we captured Maduro.
I listed them here: That Must Have Been One Heck of a Phone Call
And here: Happy One-Month-Without-Maduro Anniversary!
There's also some opposition sentiment that Jorge is "campaigning" by acting as if he's granting these people their freedom due to his own desires, hoping this will help keep him and his sister in power in the future when elections are held. I'm going to assume Trump and Rubio have a plan in place for that not to happen, but I'll keep an eye on it.
In the meantime, in case you missed it, Maduro's bagman, Alex Saab, may have been arrested. Colombian media is confirming it, but the United States is mum, and Venezuela is claiming otherwise. If it's true, that's huge. With any luck, Diosdado Cabello is next — he does have a $25 million bounty on his head in the United States after all. Rumor has it that some of his family members have been heading to Panama and Mexico in recent days. I'll keep an eye on this too.
A Few Other Things
1. We've talked at length lately about how Latin America is swinging to the right. I laid out exactly why that's happening here: The Real Reasons Why Latin America Is Moving to the Right.
2. The biggest news of the week? Costa Rica not only voted for the most Trump/Bukele-like candidate possible, but they did so in much higher numbers than expected and gave her enough of the legislature to pass her agenda through. Here's more on that: Costa Rica Voted in a New President and Something Kind of Wild Happened.
3. China's presence at the Panama Canal is dwindling, thanks to the Panamanian Supreme Court: China Suffers a Blow and the U.S. Gets a Big Boost in Panama
4. A few days ago, I wrote an essay on the women in Venezuela who are kind of holding the world together while the country awaits the change that is coming. Grab some tissues: The Mothers of a Nation.
5. Argentina signed a reciprocal trade agreement with the United States.
6. El Salvador joined President Trump's Board of Peace.
7. Speaking of socialist holdouts, Brazil's commie president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is suddenly ready for democracy in Venezuela. I'm not sure if Trump's aforementioned leverage or the fact that Lula's up for re-election this year and his opposition is growing are to blame. Maybe both.
8. I want to leave you this — I've been looking for a way to incorporate it into an article all week, but I haven't written as much as I'd like, due to a shoulder injury. A reporter from, I believe, Chile, asked Bukele this week about the international organizations (and Democrat members of Congress) who accuse him of human rights violations. I think his answer was beautiful. It's in Spanish but has subtitles, and it's worth a watch if you want to understand more about what's happening in El Salvador and the Western Hemisphere right now.
🇸🇻 Una periodista pregunta a Bukele sobre los derechos humanos de los criminales:
— Progresismo Out Of Context (@OOCprogresismo2) January 31, 2026
"Los que matan, violan, cortan cabezas y ponen bombas tienen derechos humanos, pero nosotros hemos priorizado los derechos humanos de la gente honrada".pic.twitter.com/VyihfssXeX
Wasn't that awesome?
Well, that's it for me. As I say, Rubio isn't handing me exclusives... yet, but he's been busy in Milan at the Winter Olympics this week, so maybe next time.
Glad to be with @VP Vance in Milan to meet our @TeamUSA Winter Olympics athletes. Proud of your dedication as you represent the best of American excellence. Let's go Team USA 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/xRIf90EHxE
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) February 5, 2026
Drop me an email if there's something in Latin America or the Caribbean you want to learn more about (the link is in my bio). I am slowly but (finally) surely getting caught up on responses from the last few weeks and months, and I promise I read them all and will respond soon.
Have a good weekend!
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