El Salvador President sends the military to deal with the rise of homicides

After deploying El Salvador’s military and police to help contain the surge of homicides, President Nayib Bukele said the country is starting to return to “relative stability.” Over 30 homicides took place this week between Tuesday and Wednesday alone.

“El Salvador already counts with 15 hours without any homicides. The last one was registered yesterday at 6 pm. The victim was a Barrio 18 gang member. We will not trust. We Continue,” tweeted the President.

Since last Monday, the number of homicides in El Salvador has increased. On Wednesday alone, there were 20 murders in the country. Before this surge of crime, police registered an average of three a day.

In his attempt to contain the escalation of violence, Bukele sent out the police and the army to deal with the security threat. Under the country’s Territorial Control Plan, the army can assist the police in citizen security operations.

"I have ordered incursions of the National Civil Police and the Armed Forces in the places where homicides were registered yesterday and today," the president announced in a written message.

The country’s military is patrolling densely populated areas of San Salvador, according to local news sources. It is unclear how many soldiers will be sent out or for how long. 

Authorities attribute most of the homicides in the country to gangs. The Mara Salvatrucha and Mara 18, among others have over 70,000 members in El Salvador. The gangs in El Salvador are linked to homicides, extortion, drug trafficking and other illegal activities.

Average daily homicides have fallen under Bukele. In 2020, El Salvador has 1,322 homicides and an average of 20 deaths per 100,000 citizens. According to the data, this has been less than in previous years.

"There are dark forces who are working to return us to the past, but this administration is not going to allow it," Bukele tweeted.