Editing El Salvador (section)

==Crime==
{{main|Crime in El Salvador}}
Since the early twenty-first century, El Salvador has experienced high crime rates, including gang-related crimes and [[juvenile delinquency]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Peetz|first=Peter|date=June 2008|title=Youth, Crime, and the Responses of the State: Discourses on Violence in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua |journal=GIGA Working Papers|volume=80|url=http://vg02.met.vgwort.de/cf8b767595d54e20906c4dc67d12df?l=http://www.giga-hamburg.de/dl/download.php?d=/content/publikationen/pdf/wp80_peetz.pdf}}</ref> El Salvador had the highest murder rate in the world in 2012 but experienced a sharp decline in 2019 with a new conservative government in power.<ref>{{cite web|title=El Salvador cerraría 2019 con una tasa de 36 homicidios por cada 100,000 habitantes|url=http://www.pnc.gob.sv/portal/page/portal/informativo/novedades/noticias/El%20Salvador%20cerrar%EDa%202019%20con%20una%20tasa%20de%2036%20homicidios%20por#.XoIPoIhKhPa|website=Gobierno de El Salvador|access-date=30 March 2020|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028114109/http://www.pnc.gob.sv/portal/page/portal/informativo/novedades/noticias/El%20Salvador%20cerrar%EDa%202019%20con%20una%20tasa%20de%2036%20homicidios%20por#.XoIPoIhKhPa}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Global Study on Homicide |url=http://www.unodc.org/gsh/en/data.html |website=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-date=21 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521050411/http://www.unodc.org/gsh/en/data.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2005 it was considered an epicentre of a gang crisis, along with Guatemala and Honduras.<ref name="FAS">{{cite news|first=Clare|last=Ribando|title=Gangs in Central America|date=10 May 2005|work=Congressional Research Service|publisher=The Library of Congress|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS22141.pdf|access-date=30 June 2007|archive-date=3 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703065218/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS22141.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Several journalistic investigations indicate that the government administrations of [[Mauricio Funes|Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena]]<ref>{{Cite news |work=Deutsche Welle |title=El Salvador: Fiscalía acusa a expresidente Mauricio Funes de pactar con pandillas |date=26 July 2020 |url=https://www.dw.com/es/el-salvador-fiscal%C3%ADa-acusa-a-expresidente-mauricio-funes-de-pactar-con-pandillas/a-54325432 |access-date=21 January 2022 |language=es-ES |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121205512/https://www.dw.com/es/el-salvador-fiscal%C3%ADa-acusa-a-expresidente-mauricio-funes-de-pactar-con-pandillas/a-54325432 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Salvador Sánchez Cerén]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=19 February 2020|title=Gobierno de Sánchez Cerén pagó US$400 al mes a pandilleros durante dos años|url=https://diariolahuella.com/gobierno-de-sanchez-ceren-pago-us400-al-mes-a-pandilleros-durante-dos-anos/|access-date=21 January 2022|website=Diario La Huella|language=es|archive-date=21 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121205512/https://diariolahuella.com/gobierno-de-sanchez-ceren-pago-us400-al-mes-a-pandilleros-durante-dos-anos/|url-status=live}}</ref> far from working to eradicate violence and the actions of gang groups, made truces with the gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha<ref>{{cite web|date=28 July 2020|title=El Salvador Arrests General Behind 2012 Gang Truce|url=https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/munguia-gang-truce-el-salvador/|access-date=21 January 2022|website=InSight Crime|archive-date=21 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121205513/https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/munguia-gang-truce-el-salvador/|url-status=live}}</ref> to keep a certain control over criminal activities and murders in the Salvadoran territory. In response to this, the government has set up countless programmes to try to guide the youth away from gang membership; so far its efforts have not produced any quick results. One of the government programmes was a gang reform called "[[La Mano Dura|Super Mano Dura]]" (Super Firm Hand). Super Mano Dura had little success and was highly criticized by the United Nations. It experienced temporary success in 2004 but there was a rise in crime after 2005.

=== Homicide rates ===
In 2004, there were 41 intentional homicides per 100,000 citizens, with 60% of the homicides committed being gang-related.<ref name="FAS" /> In 2012, the homicide rate had increased to 66 per 100,000 inhabitants, more than triple the rate in Mexico.<ref name="NYRB">Alma Guillermoprieto (10 November 2011).  [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/nov/10/new-gangland-el-salvador/?pagination=false "In the New Gangland of El Salvador"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022130039/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/nov/10/new-gangland-el-salvador/?pagination=false |date=22 October 2012 }}, ''New York Review of Books'', p.46</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Ryann|last=Bresnahan|title=El Salvador Dispatches Additional Contingent to Iraq:Domestic Issues Overrule Anxiety over War|date=21 August 2006|url=http://www.coha.org/2006/08/21/el-salvador-dispatches-additional-contingent-to-iraq/|work=Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA)|access-date=30 June 2007|archive-date=27 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927024812/http://www.coha.org/2006/08/21/el-salvador-dispatches-additional-contingent-to-iraq/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://in.news.yahoo.com/photos/workers-dig-near-yellow-police-line-during-exhumation-photo-025142509.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709172123/http://in.news.yahoo.com/photos/workers-dig-near-yellow-police-line-during-exhumation-photo-025142509.html |archive-date=9 July 2012 |title=Workers dig near a yellow police line during an exhumation at a clandestine cemetery in Villa Madrir |work=Yahoo News |date=May 2012 }}</ref> In 2011 there were an estimated 25,000 gang members at large in El Salvador, with another 9,000 in prison.<ref name="NYRB" /> The most well-known gangs, called "[[mara (gang)|maras]]" in colloquial Spanish, are [[MS-13|Mara Salvatrucha]] and their rivals [[18th Street gang|Barrio 18]]. Maras are hunted by [[death squad]]s including [[Sombra Negra]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocavi.com/docs_files/file_386.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325000258/http://www.ocavi.com/docs_files/file_386.pdf|archive-date=25 March 2009|title=Número de Víctimas y Tasas de Homicidios Dolosos en El Salvador (1999–2006)|access-date=26 December 2007 |publisher=Observatorio Centroamericano sobre Violencia|language=es}}</ref>

In 2015, there were 6,650 homicides recorded in El Salvador.<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 December 2015|title=El Salvador cerrará 2015 como el año más violento de su historia, con más de 6.600 homicidios|url=https://www.europapress.es/internacional/noticia-salvador-cerrara-2015-ano-mas-violento-historia-mas-6600-homicidios-20151230032319.html|access-date=16 February 2022|publisher=Europa Press|archive-date=16 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216173542/https://www.europapress.es/internacional/noticia-salvador-cerrara-2015-ano-mas-violento-historia-mas-6600-homicidios-20151230032319.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, at least 5,728 people were murdered.<ref>{{Cite news |last=null |date=3 January 2017 |title=La Policía de El Salvador dice que en 2016 se redujeron los asesinatos en el país |language=es-LA |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/es/2017/01/03/espanol/america-latina/la-policia-de-el-salvador-dice-que-en-2016-se-redujeron-los-asesinatos-en-el-pais.html |access-date=16 February 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216173538/https://www.nytimes.com/es/2017/01/03/espanol/america-latina/la-policia-de-el-salvador-dice-que-en-2016-se-redujeron-los-asesinatos-en-el-pais.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2017, there were 3,962 recorded homicides.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 January 2019 |title=La violencia descendió en 2018 en El Salvador por tercer año consecutivo |language=es-ES |work=Deutsche Welle |url=https://www.dw.com/es/la-violencia-descendi%C3%B3-en-2018-en-el-salvador-por-tercer-a%C3%B1o-consecutivo/a-46938701 |access-date=16 February 2022 |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216173537/https://www.dw.com/es/la-violencia-descendi%C3%B3-en-2018-en-el-salvador-por-tercer-a%C3%B1o-consecutivo/a-46938701 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, there were 3,348 recorded deaths.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} In 2019, authorities reported a total of 2,365 homicides.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Homicidios bajan 29% en El Salvador durante 2019 |language=es |work=La Prensa Gráfica |url=https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Homicidios-bajan-29-en-El-Salvador-durante-2019-20191230-0603.html |access-date=16 February 2022 |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216173538/https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Homicidios-bajan-29-en-El-Salvador-durante-2019-20191230-0603.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, there were only 1,322 reported homicides.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brigida |first=Anna-Catherine |title=El Salvador's Homicide Rate Hit a Historic Low in 2020 |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/03/el-salvador-homicide-historic-low-2020-gangs-migration/ |access-date=19 March 2022 |website=Foreign Policy |date=3 March 2021 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408155130/https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/03/el-salvador-homicide-historic-low-2020-gangs-migration/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2021, the country recorded 1,140 homicides.<ref>{{Cite news |work=Deutsche Welle |title=Gobierno de El Salvador: 2021 fue "el año más seguro" |date=2 January 2022 |url=https://www.dw.com/es/gobierno-de-el-salvador-2021-fue-el-a%C3%B1o-m%C3%A1s-seguro/a-60310349 |access-date=19 March 2022 |language=es-ES |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331044722/https://www.dw.com/es/gobierno-de-el-salvador-2021-fue-el-a%C3%B1o-m%C3%A1s-seguro/a-60310349 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to official data, 2021 had the lowest number of recorded murders since the end of the civil war in 1992.

By 2022, El Salvador had a homicide rate of 7.8 per 100,000 individuals.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Eddie Galdamez |date=May 1, 2023 |title=El Salvador Homicide Rate (2010-2023). The Daily Murder Rate for 2023 is 0.4 |website=El Salvador INFO |url=https://elsalvadorinfo.net/homicide-rate-in-el-salvador/ |access-date=3 May 2023 |archive-date=22 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522040620/https://elsalvadorinfo.net/homicide-rate-in-el-salvador/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 10 May 2023, Bukele stated on Twitter that El Salvador had completed one full year or 365 days since 2019 without a single homicide occurring. This announcement was accompanied by a video detailing his government's claims about this dramatic change in the occurrences of homicide.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cerramos el 10 de mayo de 2023, con 0 homicidios a nivel nacional.Con este, son 365 días sin homicidios, todo un año|url=https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1656553055104499712|access-date=11 May 2023|archive-date=11 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511110316/https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1656553055104499712|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2024, El Salvador reported a homicide rate of 1.9 per 100,000 people, a figure lower than any other Latin American country.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alemán |first1=Marcos |title=El Salvador closes 2024 with a record low number of homicides |url=https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-homicides-gangs-bukele-69384a8705267eaddd18dcd28a53465b#:~:text=Not%20all%20nations%20had%20published,country%20had%20reported%20in%202023. |website=AP News |language=en |date=1 January 2025}}</ref> This rate represents a 98% decrease in nine years.<ref name="Straight Arrow News">{{cite web |last1=Rucker |first1=Karah |last2=Edwards |first2=Michael |title=How El Salvador's murder rate fell 98% in nine years |url=https://san.com/cc/how-el-salvadors-murder-rate-fell-98-in-nine-years/ |website=Straight Arrow News |date=3 January 2025}}</ref>

=== 2022 crackdown on gangs ===
{{Main|2022 Salvadoran gang crackdown}}
Beginning on 25 March 2022, three days of gang-related violence occurred that left 87 people dead.<ref name="france24.com">{{Cite web |date=10 April 2022 |title=Más de 9.000 pandilleros detenidos en El Salvador en 15 días, dice Bukele |url=https://www.france24.com/es/minuto-a-minuto/20220410-m%C3%A1s-de-9-000-pandilleros-detenidos-en-el-salvador-en-15-d%C3%ADas-dice-bukele |access-date=21 April 2022 |website=France 24 |archive-date=21 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421024739/https://www.france24.com/es/minuto-a-minuto/20220410-m%C3%A1s-de-9-000-pandilleros-detenidos-en-el-salvador-en-15-d%C3%ADas-dice-bukele |url-status=live }}</ref> In response, President Bukele asked the Salvadoran parliament to ratify a state of emergency.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador declares state of emergency after gang killings |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/28/el-salvador-invokes-state-of-emergency-after-62-killings-in-a-day |access-date=21 April 2022 |website=www.aljazeera.com |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405234029/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/28/el-salvador-invokes-state-of-emergency-after-62-killings-in-a-day |url-status=live }}</ref> On 26 March, Bukele also ordered the police and army to initiate mass-arrests against those responsible for the violence.

A day later, [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador|Congress]] approved a "[[State of emergency|State of Emergency]]" that gives legal coverage to arrest any citizen suspected to be a gang member even with no proof. In addition, Congress also approved reforms to increase the maximum sentence for gang membership from 9 to 45 years in prison and punish the dissemination of gang messages, including independent journalism talking about the gang crisis, with up to 15 years in prison.

The law was directed against those who "mark" their territories with acronyms of the gangs, a practice that gang members use to intimidate, and threaten with death those who denounce them to the authorities. The Directorate of Penal Centres began to erase the graffiti that the gangs use to mark the territory in which they operate.

The [[MS-13|Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)]] and [[18th Street gang|Barrio 18 gangs]], among others, were estimated in 2022 to have around some 70,000 members, and as of August 2023, around 72,000 suspected gang members have been sent to prison as a part of the government crackdown on the gangs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://diario.elmundo.sv/politica/asi-procesaran-a-los-71976-detenidos-en-el-regimen-de-excepcion|title=Así Procesarán a los 71,976 Detenidos en el Régimen de Excepción|trans-title=This Is How They Will Process the 71,976 Detained in the State of Exception|language=es|date=25 July 2023|access-date=8 August 2022|work=[[El Mundo (El Salvador)|El Mundo]]|first1=Jessica|last1=Guzmán|archive-date=25 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725195654/https://diario.elmundo.sv/politica/asi-procesaran-a-los-71976-detenidos-en-el-regimen-de-excepcion|url-status=live}}</ref>