BARRIO – The administration of Nayib Bukele has reached 300 days with zero homicides in three years and eight months. It is an impressive achievement considering that before the Nayib Bukele Presidency, El Salvador had experienced one day with zero homicides in ten years.
To put it in context, the previous administration of ex-president Salvador Sanchez Ceren did not have a single day without homicides, and the one before that of ex-president Mauricio Funes only achieved one day with zero homicides in five years.
This trend of days without murders is continuing in 2023. Between January 1 and February 13, 2023, the Salvadoran police recorded 30 days without homicides in El Salvador.
The stats of days with zero murders do not include the deaths of alleged gang members that have died in a confrontation with Salvadoran security forces.
In June 2023, the Bukele administration will complete four years in office, and during this time, El Salvador has achieved an impressive homicide reduction.
Undoubtedly, the days without homicides in El Salvador have drastically increased since the State of Exception began. A popular explanation for the achievement of these numbers is the arrest of over 60,000 alleged gang members or gang contributors.
It is hard to believe that, in 2023, the days without homicides in El Salvador occur often. In 2018, the year before Nayib Bukele became president, the average daily murder rate was 9.8, and there were no days with zero homicides during that year.
