El Salvador went from recording 6,656 homicides in 2015 —the highest rate in the world that year, with 106.3 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants— to closing 2025 with just 82 violent deaths and a rate of 1.3 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to a comprehensive report by BBC.
The article shows the situation of Salvadoran communities four years after the start of the state of exception promoted by President Nayib Bukele.
The transformation began in March 2022, when the Legislative Assembly—controlled by allies of the president—decreed emergency measures that suspend constitutional guarantees, allow arrests without a court order, and limit access to legal defense. Since then, the regime has been extended month by month and remains in effect in August 2026.
In areas like Campanera, on the outskirts of San Salvador, the change is palpable. For years, that neighborhood was the territory of Barrio 18, one of the gangs that, alongside MS-13, turned the country into one of the deadliest in the world.
Adélia Rosales, a preschool teacher who lived there during the worst times, remembers the bodies found in the alleys and the gunfire that interrupted outings to church with her children. She states that currently, children play in the streets even at night. "I never dreamed that one day this would change," she declared to the BBC News Brasil team in May.
More than 90,000 people have been imprisoned on charges of gang affiliations since the beginning of the state of exception. The decline in homicides has been consistent: from a rate of 84.1 in 2016, it fell to 7.8 in 2022, to 2.4 in 2023, to 1.9 in 2024, and to 1.3 in 2025. The government celebrated in May 2025 having surpassed 900 consecutive days without recorded homicides.
The economy aligns with the official narrative. GDP grew by 3.9% in 2025 and 4.8% in the first quarter of 2026, the highest rate in 17 years. Tourism welcomed 4.1 million international visitors last year, generating revenues exceeding 3.6 billion dollars, and remittances reached nearly 10 billion dollars, equivalent to about 24% of GDP.
The model has a documented alleged human cost
Amnesty International warned in July 2026 that the state of exception could constitute crimes against humanity as it represents "a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population."
The organization recorded at least 470 deaths in state custody. Human Rights Watch reported that number as 458 in its annual report. According to La Prensa Gráfica, 90% of the deceased in prison had not been convicted at the time of their death.
Mothers of detainees report arrests without evidence. Neighbors speak of a fear that is different from that of gangs: the fear of expressing oneself or criticizing the government. The BBC summarizes this paradox in the title of its report: "The fear now is different."
In the political realm, Bukele has established unprecedented institutional control: 57 of the 60 deputies in the Assembly support him, he dismissed five judges from the Constitutional Chamber in 2021, and in July 2025 he promoted a reform that eliminates limits on reelection and extends the presidential term to six years.
He has a 67.4% approval rating—the highest among Latin American leaders according to the consulting firm CB Global Data—and the president has already announced that he will seek a third term in the elections on February 28, 2027. If he wins, he would remain in power until 2033, totaling 14 years at the helm of the country.
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