over $1000 USD transit fee for Indians and Africans

Quick fact-checking:

El Salvador imposes a mandatory USD$1,130 (USD$1,000 + 13% VAT) "Airport Improvement Fee" on passengers from India and over 50 African nations transiting through San Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport. This fee applies to all travellers holding passports from these designated countries, collected directly by airlines, effective since October 2023

I live in El Salvador and I would like to explain this a little bit from our perspective.

From a Salvadoran perspective, the high transit fee for people from India is often seen less as a judgment about individuals and more as a response to broader migration pressures that the country has faced in recent years. El Salvador is a extremely almost unimaginably small country with VERY limited resources, and many people feel that their institutions are still recovering from over a decade of USA investing significant financial resources killing Salvadorans. Because of that, there can be a sense that the government needs to be cautious and manage who passes through the country, especially when it comes to irregular migration routes that may place strain on public services, and make it harder for the Salvadoran people themselves to travel, or for The Faraway Brothers to visit their families.

There is also an awareness that El Salvador has increasingly been used as part of longer migration journeys toward North America, including by people coming from very far away. Some Salvadorans understand the transit fee as a way for the government to discourage misuse of tourist entry for migration purposes (and this is kind of a big deal to us because 15% of GDP is tourism, which is one of the highest in the americas, if not possibly the highest). While this policy can seem harsh, many people locally frame it as an attempt to maintain order, protect limited infrastructure, and avoid creating situations that could become difficult to manage for both migrants and residents.

At the same time, many Salvadorans empathize with migrants, including those from India, because migration is such a central part of their own national story. Almost every family has relatives who have left in search of better opportunities, often facing risks along the way. Historically Salvadorans have been very accepting of immigrants, and actually, we have a super high population of Palestinians here in the country. In fact even my city, which is a relatively small city, has a mosque.

Seems like the kind of policy that would be counter productive. Regular travelers will be disinclined to travel through, and those looking to illegally immigrate will be the ones willing to pay the fee.

Feel like this is something you could have researched and found out before you bought tickets and went to that country

Understandable if the country has an illegal immigration problem from those countries.

Woah!  Charging over $0300 is crazy

Their heads in the right place, but the execution is just a little off

That seems to be more reasonable than banning travel. Japan would just block foreigners if it really wants.

Which is it?

OP says 1000 USD

Video text says 1130 USD

Video subs say 1300 USD

Smart