This outlet highlighted figures suggesting that the National Civil Police (PNC) reported the killing of 564 people from January 1 to December 19, which contrasts with the large number of killings recorded in the country before the enactment of the state took place last March 27th.
Justice and Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro claims the homicide rate they want to end the year with is 8.0 percent per 100,000 people.
“We ended 2021 with a homicide rate of 18.6 per 100,000 people. The forecast we have for this year will be slightly below 8.0 percent, meaning the country’s homicide rate is almost 60 percent,” read the headline.
Government statistics show that there are an average of 1.5 deaths per day from gang violence, a significant change considering that 87 homicides were attributable to gangs over the weekend before the state of emergency was declared.
The authorities’ figures assure that there were 85 homicides in January, 79 in February, while for March, April, May, June, July, August, September and October, November, figures unauthorized by the authorities were 172, 34., 29, 35, 22, 31, 26, 22, 20 kills, respectively
December through the 19th saw the deaths of nine people, all civilians, four of them in a single day, attributed to drug traffickers, marking a decrease in violence.
After the state of emergency was declared in support of the government’s overall security plan, authorities jailed more than 60,000 suspected gang members and collaborators to mark a before and after on the country’s streets.
In the final weeks of the year, the application of Phase V of the security plan stood out, the siege of the Soyapango community in the capital, which led to the arrests of more than 500 gang members still at work.
Although the official and media message is that the population feels safer with these results, some, like Elim Church Pastor Mario Vega, reiterate that it is just a “show”.
Despite this type of criticism, however, the polls certify support for the emergency regime and an increase in security, something Salvadorans are thinking about as they set out to celebrate the end of the year without fear of the violence of the “maras”. enjoy. or gangs.
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