A Day Without Murder In El Salvador

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

El Salvador, one of the most violent countries in the world, celebrated something unusual on Wednesday: for 24 hours there was not a single murder in its territory.

A feat considering that in 2016 there were 5,278 homicides, that is, an average of 81.2 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. A violence that for the most part generates the bloody fight for territory and power of its feared gangs, such as the Salvatrucha gang and the M-18.

These two "maras" have some 70,000 members in the country and 10,000 within their prisons, with whom they constitute a solid network of drug trafficking, organized crime, extortion and other crimes.

These criminal groups emerged in Latino neighborhoods in Los Angeles in the 1980s and reached Central America when the United States deported thousands of violent immigrants in the following decade. With her arrival, crimes in the region soared.

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The director general of the Salvadoran National Civil Police, Howard Cotto, celebrated having a day without murders in the country and noted that in the first days of the year there has been a decrease in crime, the AP agency said.

As of January 11, 99 violent deaths had been recorded. On those same dates, a year ago, the figure was 250.

Still, the authorities stressed that you cannot let your guard down and do not forget that 47 policemen were killed in 2016, most when they were on leave.