The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele says his country is to blame for the death of migrants making the dangerous journey to the United States in search of a better life.

In his first broadcast interview since being elected, Bukele reacted to the pictures of the  Salvadorian migrant and his young daughter who drowned as they tried to reach America.

His words: “It’s our fault. They felt that fleeing the country, crossing three borders, a desert, a river where they finally drowned was safer than staying here. Why would people take those risks?”

The photo which made headlines across the world showed Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria side-by-side in shallow water along the bank of the Rio Grande on the Mexican side of the US border.

Around a third of the people in El Salvador, a small but densely populated central American country live in poverty. The country also faces the problem of violent gangs who recruit unemployed young people.

Thousands of Salvadorians are among those making the perilous trip north to try to enter the US.

The 37-year-old Bukele however rejected President Donald Trump’s suggestion that his plan for a wall would have saved Oscar Ramirez and his daughter, saying that constructing a barrier on the Mexico-US border would be futile.

The president, who earlier this week said the US was dealing with the migrant situation the wrong way disclosed that it was vital for El Salvador to maintain good relations with the US as his country was totally economically dependent on America.

He also rejected the claim that Mr. Trump is racist when it comes to his view on migrants.

“I don’t think he’s a racist. He’s a businessman. I mean you have to do business and for us, the United States is not a thing you can ignore,” Bukele stressed.