Under President Bukele, the murder rate fell by 96% in a very short time
Justice & Anti-CorruptionEl Salvador
- Omissions
- The claim does not specify the baseline year (2018) or the end year (2024) for the reduction calculation.
- The murder rate in 2018 was 53.1 per 100,000 inhabitants according to official Salvadoran data cited by CRS.
- The 1.9 per 100,000 rate for 2024 represents the lowest homicide rate in El Salvador's history.
- Bukele took office in June 2019, but the dramatic reduction occurred primarily after the state of emergency was declared in March 2022.
- Harvard research indicates the rate was 2.4 per 100,000 in 2023, representing a 95.5% reduction from 2018.
- From 2015 peak (103 per 100,000) to 2024, the reduction is over 98%.
- Sources
- PrimaryCongressional Research Service (CRS) - El Salvador Country ProfileThe Bukele government claimed its crackdown on gang activity reduced El Salvador's homicide rate to 1.9 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024, down from 53.1 per 100,000 in 2018.
- PrimaryUK Government - Country Policy and Information Note: El SalvadorThe Bukele government claimed its crackdown on gang activity reduced El Salvador's homicide rate to 1.9 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024.
- SecondaryHarvard International ReviewUnder Bukele, the murder rate dropped from 53 per 100,000 people in 2018 to 2.4 per 100,000 in 2023, a reduction of over 95%.
- SecondaryAP News - El Salvador closes 2024 with record low homicidesEl Salvador closed 2024 with 114 homicides, a record low, down from approximately 6,656 murders in 2015.