Click here to view Senator Cotton’s interview.
In case you missed it — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) joined Brian Kilmeade on Fox and Friends to discuss his trip to El Salvador to meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and his visit to a prison housing violent criminals there.
In part, Senator Cotton said:
“You know, it wasn't that long ago that El Salvador was one of the most dangerous places in the world, on par with countries in the middle of wars. But a couple of years ago, President Bukele and his legislature instituted a state of emergency, the police cracked down, there were large scale roundups of MS-13 and other gangs. And now, El Salvador rivals Canada for one of the safest places in the Americas. It's just a lesson about what happens when you take crime seriously, when you restore public order.”
Senator Cotton’s full interview may be found here and below.
Brian Kilmeade: Another Fox and Friends exclusive. Senator Tom Cotton becomes the first U.S. official inside El Salvador's terrorist confinement center. There he is. The maximum-security jail was built in 2022 after the country's president declared a state of emergency to crack down on violent gangs, and it seems to be working. Homicides in El Salvador dropped 70% in 2023. Joining us now with more on what he saw, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton. Senator, you knew El Salvador had another election, the President gets another gets another term, that prompted you to reach out. Why?
Senator Cotton: Yeah Brian, what's happened in El Salvador over the last couple of years is really remarkable. You know, it wasn't that long ago that El Salvador was one of the most dangerous places in the world, on par with countries in the middle of wars. But a couple of years ago, President Bukele and his legislature instituted a state of emergency, the police cracked down, there were large scale roundups of MS-13 and other gangs. And now, El Salvador rivals Canada for one of the safest places in the Americas. It's just a lesson about what happens when you take crime seriously, when you restore public order. What I saw there was remarkable. You had young kids playing soccer in the afternoon, women jogging during the twilight hours, things that simply could not have happened two years ago. And in my conversations with the president, one thing that he stressed, is that you have to take such measures when crime runs rampant, when public order breaks down, something I worry about happening in some of America's cities. When I landed at the airport in San Salvador, in fact, the front page of the newspaper had a story about an outbreak of violence in Washington, D.C. It's a reminder that we can never let our guard down against crime in this country.
Brian Kilmeade: Senator, also give me a sense of what is indeed possible, who people who think that Central America is hopeless, South America will never reform, that they can't get things together and that we're always going to have this problem with immigration.
Senator Cotton: That's right, Brian, these are problems that can be solved. Again, just a few years ago, people couldn't go outside their homes, they had to pay extortion money, gangs would show up for your 12-year-old boy and say we're taking him to be one of us or will kill you. Say we're gonna take your 12-year-old girl for prostitution, otherwise, we're gonna kill your whole family. Now, they can live a normal life. They don't have to pay extortion, they can go out in the evening, they can leave their business. And you can have things like economic growth and education, which is what the president wants to focus on in this new term, that he just won by more than 80% as one of the most popular leaders in the country. So, it goes to show that these problems can be solved. But sometimes you can also be a victim of your own success. Look where New York was before Rudy Giuliani came along with a series of great police chiefs in the 1990s. But look where it's deteriorated to since Bill de Blasio took office, you can never forget that order is not the natural state of mankind, it has to be carefully preserved and cultivated with strong law enforcement, and in this case, strong and big prisons for ruthless gang members.
Brian Kilmeade: I mean, they arrested tens of thousands. They did release about 7,000. Maybe they over-arrested. I've seen some of the stories, and they've let them out. But right now, the people of El Salvador can walk the streets. You also mentioned the 300,000 people living here expats. They voted overwhelmingly for this President, so they appreciate what's going on. Senator, thanks so much for doing this, not many people are talking about what you're doing. This is called going to the grassroots of the problem. And this is one of the answers, a shame the vice president didn't go with you. Senator Tom Cotton. Thank you.
Senator Cotton: Thank you, Brian.