Safest Months in El Salvador: January 2026 Joins the List of the Country’s Most Secure Months

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Once plagued by one of the world’s highest murder rates, El Salvador is now posting some of its safest months in more than half a century.

Based on homicides, January 2026 entered the list of safest months in El Salvador; it closed with just five homicides, averaging 0.16 murders per day, and recorded 26 days without a single killing.

January’s homicide numbers were higher than the record-breaking December 2024, which ended with only one homicide and a 0.03 daily rate—November’s figures continue a dramatic downward trend in violent crime.

The safest months in El Salvador do not include the deaths of alleged gang members who died in confrontations with the Salvadoran National Police, as well as murders involving bodies found in mass graves.

Security officials say the steady decline in murders reflects sweeping anti-gang efforts under President Nayib Bukele, who took office in June 2019. At that time, the daily homicide rate stood at 7.7.

Another indicator of the country’s improved security is that, under the current administration (2019–2025), El Salvador has recorded over 1,000 days without homicides.

The days with zero homicides in El Salvador are remarkable, considering that before the Nayib Bukele Administration, El Salvador had experienced less than five days with zero homicides in 15 years.

The government credits two major security initiatives for the country’s security improvement: the Territorial Control Plan, launched in 2019, and the State of Exception, first enacted in March 2022.

The Territorial Control Plan comprises seven phases—preparation, opportunity, modernization, incursion, extraction, and integration—aimed at dismantling gang influence. The final phase has not been disclosed.

During the State of exception, more than 90,000 people have been detained—suspected of being gang members or collaborators. The controversial security measure has been extended over 46 consecutive times.

National and international human rights organizations have criticized the Regime of Exception for human rights violations, arbitrary arrests, and the death of inmates in prisons.

However, surveys conducted during the State of Exception have shown that most Salvadorans approve of this controversial measure.