May 10th marked the end of a remarkable milestone for El Salvador, as the nation recorded zero homicides nationwide. With this achievement, President Nayib Bukele’s administration has reached 365 days without any homicides, completing a full year without deaths due to violence during the nearly four years of his presidency since assuming office in 2019.
This accomplishment is attributed to the public security strategy, with the flagship initiative known as the Territorial Control Plan. Additionally, the state of exception, in effect since March 2022, has played a significant role in yielding more significant results in the reduction of daily homicides, extortions, and other crimes. During this period, the Salvadoran government successfully dismantled gangs across the country.
The country has now recorded four consecutive days without any murders in May, adding to a total of eight murder-free days so far this month.
Furthermore, El Salvador has also accumulated 95 days without any homicides since the beginning of the year. Out of these, 22 days belong to January, 21 to February, 20 to March, 24 to April, and eight to May, as detailed by official statistics from the National Civil Police (PNC).
The state of exception, implemented at the request of President Nayib Bukele and approved by the Legislative Assembly, has enabled the authorities to remove over 68,000 gang members from the streets, relieving the population from fear and intimidation.
Working in collaboration, the PNC and the Armed Forces have seized over 2,700 firearms, more than 3,610 vehicles, and over 16,500 cell phones from gangs and their affiliates.
In addition to these achievements, renowned criminologist Ricardo Sosa projects that El Salvador will end 2023 with a homicide rate ranging from 1.9 to 2.5 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, based on official statistics and evidence provided by the Salvadoran government.
Under President Bukele’s leadership, El Salvador has become the country with the lowest homicide rate in Central America and one of the safest in all of Latin America.