El Salvador used to be one of the most dangerous nations in the world. Not even to the neighboring countries or people who visited but mainly to its own citizens. Gangs ruled the streets, and people had to hide during the day to not get recruited for these gangs. Each year, thousands of people are murdered; however, in 2024, El Salvador hit a Record Low in Homicides. Keep on reading to discover how this was possible!
El Salvador is not the “most violent nation” anymore
Just a decade ago, in 2015, El Salvador was one of the most dangerous nations in the Western world. During that year alone, there were over 6656 registered murders. However, in 2019, President Nayib Bukele was elected and started to tackle the problems that his country was experiencing. He implemented the Territorial Control Plan, and in the first year, the murder rate went down 50%. Last year, in 2024, there were only 114 recorded homicides, the lowest in its history. This number equates to 1.9 murders per 100.000 people.
However, in 2022, there were gangs that killed over 87 people, which caused Nayib Bukele to crack down on gangs as well. Since 2022, there have been more than 83.000 arrests of gang members by the police!
President Nayib Bukele Keeps improving the country despite criticism of Human rights violations!
There have been critics who said that President Nayib Bukele has violated human rights, with more than 300 deaths of people in custody reported. However, the people who live in El Salvador say that they can finally walk the streets without fear again. Before Nayib Bukele, there were gangs who terrorized the streets, making it unsafe for people. These gangs would also forcibly recruit new members of the public to join their gang. So Nayib Bukele keeps getting more popular with the citizens of El Salvador, which probably means he will be re-elected a third time as well!