World history: Bukele's El Salvador celebrates 1,000 days without homicides in the country

On March 27, 2022, a Sunday, gangs—which had been terrorizing the population for three decades—unleashed a spiral of violence and murdered 62 people throughout El Salvador. It was then that the current president of the country, Nayib Bukele, requested that Congress approve a state of exception in order to combat these criminal groups.

Today, 1,000 days after that congressional declaration, thanks to the tough security policies implemented by Bukele, El Salvador can say that it has not recorded a single homicide during this entire period, and terrorist organizations such as Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 have been eradicated.

The milestone was celebrated by the Salvadoran president this Saturday on the social network X. "1,000 days without homicides. I was advised to make a national broadcast and give a speech to commemorate this historic milestone: 1,000 days without homicides since the beginning of our government."

"But I believe that, instead of speeches, the best thing is for us to reflect today on what our country has experienced and on all the forces that tried to prevent us from getting here. Those who always say "impossible!" are unaware of the power of asking God for wisdom and accepting being instruments of Him," reflected the head of state. 

World history: Bukele's El Salvador celebrates 1,000 days without homicides in the country | La Derecha Diario

The Salvadoran model. 

When Bukele came to power in 2019, criminal groups controlled 90% of the national territory and used this power to extort and murder neighbors who refused to pay "el derecho de piso," a term used by criminals to refer to the demand for payment from individuals or businesses in exchange for protection or to avoid reprisals. 

As soon as the state of exception was legally declared, thousands of members of the security forces received the presidential directive to begin house-to-house searches in the neighborhoods where criminals operated. As such, they set up barricades with barbed wire and allowed neither entry nor exit for anyone. 

In connection with this federal offensive, the government also declared an emergency in the prisons, where by order of Bukele, inmates remained in their cells "without being able to see even a ray of sunlight". The detainees are housed in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum-security prison built specifically for that purpose.  

90,000 criminals detained. 

The presence of security forces on the streets—with an approximate total of 30,000 uniformed personnel still deployed—and the strict prison checks remain in effect. This, together with a reform of the Penal Code that punishes anyone with any gang affiliation more severely, has turned El Salvador into one of the safest countries on the continent. 

The Central American country closed 2024 with a minimal figure of 114 homicides, a daily average of 0.3. In 2015, the bloodiest year recorded in the territory since the civil war, 6,656 Salvadorans were murdered and the homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants was 106. 

Meanwhile, since Congress granted Bukele extraordinary powers, authorities claim to have captured more than 88,800 people accused of belonging to or having alleged links with gangs. Of that number, about 8,000 who were investigated and determined to have no criminal ties were released.