If you had arrived in San Salvador only a few years ago, you would have been advised to avoid several dangerous areas of the city, especially residential neighborhoods in municipalities like Soyapango and Mejicanos. These zones were under the complete control of notorious gangs like Barrio-18 and MS-13, and the act of crossing into them (even accidentally) could have resulted in a violent robbery, or even murder.
Living Under Fear
Years ago, residents simply had to adapt to the violence within San Salvador.
For example, taxi drivers refused to drop off passengers who lived in the aforementioned neighborhoods, and would instead let them out along the perimeter. Even ordering a pizza was impossible, because businesses would decline delivery to these locations. In order to pickup food, residents would have to meet the driver at a safe location nearby, like a supermarket or a shopping mall.
The violence wasn't limited to Soyapango and Mejicanos, even though they were two of the worst municipalities in the city. The gangs would often travel to nicer areas of San Salvador too, in search of victims. For that reason, private businesses needed to hire armed security personnel to patrol shopping centers, hotels, parking lots, and strip malls.
Coastal areas famous for surfing (like El Tunco) were also considered unsafe at the time, as they were under the control of gangs. Downtown El Salvador (El Centro), where the cathedral and palace are located, was also avoided due to rampant crime. Gang members would rob locals at bus stops, in buses, or even on the street in broad daylight, taking their smartphones, laptops, cash, and more.
War On The Gangs
Fed up with the senseless violence, Nayib Bukele and his government launched a war against the gangs in 2022 shortly after a killing spree left nearly 100 innocent Salvadorans dead. A state of emergency was declared, and anyone who was suspected of being a gang member was taken into custody, and eventually sent to prison.
Since then, the (government reported) homicide rate in the country has dropped from about 100 per 100,000 to about 1 or 2 in 100,000, making it the safest country in the western hemisphere. Petty crime has come down as well, likely because criminals now fear the consequences of their actions.
Unfortunately, some innocent people got caught up in the operation, and ended up in jail. However, they are being released slowly over time.
International human rights agencies have been criticizing Bukele for the methods used to reign in the gangs. My question is, do they have a better idea to prevent the needless bloodshed? These people have probably never traveled to El Salvador, and do not understand how the gangs operate here.
Although some locals have told me they disagree with the methods the government used to crack down on the gangs, everyone acknowledges the significant improvement in safety over the past few years. Citizens can now walk the streets, take the bus, and visit the historical city center without fear of being robbed, kidnapped or murdered.
Meanwhile, the non-violent criminals are being rehabilitated and slowly re-integrated back into society.
Crime In North America
Compare what has happened in El Salvador to the rapidly deteriorating situation in North America.
In cities like San Francisco, delinquents are allowed to smash car windows, loot stores, and assault innocent bystanders without any repercussions whatsoever. The city's soft stance on crime has only emboldened the offenders to escalate their criminal activity. One must ask, why would the authorities permit such crime to continue?
The situation gets even worse when considering the so-called "sanctuary cities" of North America, where unvetted migrants (sometimes violent) are invited in, given government assistance, and allowed to cause chaos. The police are instructed not to take these people off the streets, even if they commit a violent crime.
Fortune Favors The Brave
I think we are in dire need of a sanity check in the West. In the meantime, other countries seem to be making substantial progress in terms of safety and finance.
El Salvador has made the bold move of not only implementing a zero-tolerance policy on crime, but also by adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. So far the nation's decisions have been paying off in terms of tourism and foreign investment.
These novel policies are something that many North American cities could learn from, in order to improve the lives of their citizens.
If you found this article interesting, be sure to check out my other posts on crypto and finance here on the HIVE blockchain. You can also follow me on InLeo for more frequent updates.
Until next time...