San Salvador. Image by There have been 228 days without homicides in El Salvador in 2023 and over 450 in total under the Bukele administration. An impressive achievement, considering that before the Nayib Bukele Presidency, El Salvador had experienced less than five days without homicides in 15 years.
To put it in context, the previous three administrations of ex-presidents Tony Saca (2005 to 2009), Mauricio Funes (2009 to 1014), and Salvador Sanchez Ceren (2014 to 2019) achieved less than five days day with zero homicides in 15 years.
The days without homicides in El Salvador continues in 2023; from January 1 to November 30, the Salvadoran Police reported 228 days with zero murders in El Salvador.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 22 |
| February | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| March | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| April | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 24 |
| May | 0 | 6 | 2 | 17 | 18 |
| June | 0 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 21 |
| July | 1 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 23 |
| August | 0 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 20 |
| September | 2 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 21 |
| October | 2 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 15 |
| November | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 23 |
| November | 1 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0 |
| Total | 6 | 26 | 31 | 166 | 228 |
The stats of days with zero murders for 2022 and 2023 do not include the deaths of alleged gang members who died in confrontations with Salvadoran security forces; 120 in 2022 and 40 thus far in 2023.
SEE ALSO: El Salvador Homicide Rate
On June 2023, the Bukele administration completed four years in office, and during this time, El Salvador achieved an impressive homicide reduction. The government attributes this reduction to its territorial control Plan and the State of Exception.
The territorial control plan started in June 2019, when Nayib Bukele took office as president. The security measure has seven phases, of which five are already being implemented. The last two phases are unknown as the government hasn’t made them public.
The State of Exception began in late March 2022 as a petition of the Salvadoran Security Cabinet and was approved quickly by the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly. This security measure that restricts some constitutional guarantees has been extended over 19 times since its implementation.
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 71,000 alleged gang members or gang contributors.
Days Without Homicides in El Salvador
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.
