The number of murders in El Salvador dropped by almost 57% in 2022 compared to the previous year, the country’s government said on Tuesday (3). Nayib Bukele’s administration attributes the difference to what he describes as success in the war against gangs.
Authorities recorded, according to official figures, 496 homicides last year. In 2021, there were 1,147, said Defense Minister Francis Merino. The count does not, however, consider gang members who died in confrontation with the police – in this case, it would rise to 600.
The government did not provide the homicide rate —an index that calculates the number per 100,000 inhabitants. Previous data, from 2015, showed 103 murders per 100,000 people that year.
Bukele launched a full-fledged war against the pandillas, or maras, armed groups that have traditionally fueled violence in the country. In March, it will be one year since the nation lives under an exceptional regime decreed and renewed periodically by the government after a weekend in which the pandillas murdered 87 people.
With that, several constitutional rights were suspended and the military presence became more frequent in the streets under the justification of fighting the Barrio 18 and MS-13 gangs. At least 60,000 suspected gang members were detained by security forces.
Human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, claim that the measure, however, has led to widespread violence and that Bukele, one of the youngest rulers in the region —he is 41 years old—, is heading towards an autocratic regime.
The president, however, enjoys wide popularity, with opinion polls showing approval ratings in excess of 80%. Together with the drop in homicides, the factor is used to justify the measures.
“The reduction is the result of the state of exception, since criminals are no longer on the streets harming the population,” said the Minister of Defense.
NGOs also denounce the siege on the justice system and press freedom in the Central American country. Last May, the Salvadoran Legislature, dominated by supporters of Bukele, approved the dismissal of five Supreme Court justices critical of the president.
As far as the press is concerned, the Assembly also approved a law that allows punishing with sentences of 10 to 15 years in prison the dissemination of gang messages in the media, which was considered by local newspapers, such as the renowned El Faro, a practice of censorship.
Journalists from the country also denounced internationally that they had their cell phones hacked by Pegasus, spy software produced by an Israeli company. The Bukele government, however, denies being involved in the case.
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