According to the US Department of State, El Salvador was now safer than France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, the UK and several other European countries.
The Central American country received a travel advisory upgrade and has been labelled a “Level 1” country, where US travellers only need to exercise standard precautions.
“Gang activity has decreased over the last three years. This has caused a drop in violent crimes and murders”, the US state department said on its website.
Many European countries have not been given such a label.
France, for example, was on “Level 2”, where US travellers were urged to exercise increased caution, due to terrorism and civil unrest.
“Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in France. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas,” state department the warning read.
“Incidents such as pickpocketing and phone snatchings occur frequently and can happen anywhere, especially in crowded areas such as airports, train stations, subway and train cars, and near tourist attractions,” it said, adding that demonstrations and strikes could be “problematic.”
The other European countries under increased caution all received their warning labels based on the perceived terrorist threat.
High crime levels in Sweden are pushing rescue workers to drastic measures; those in the city of Uppsala, near Stockholm, will be equipped with bulletproof vests. https://t.co/dn6B7sYKIs
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) March 25, 2024
The El Salvador upgrade was the result of President Nayib Bukele having declared a “State of Exception” in March 2022 in response to an increase in gang-related murders.
Local authorities were given the power to pursue those suspected of being involved in gang activity. Certain constitutional rights were suspended and tens of thousands of people were sent to jail.
As a result of these strong anti-crime policies, the murder rate in El Salvador has dropped spectacularly.
When Bukele took office in 2019, the country had one of the world’s highest murder rates, at 38 per 100,000 inhabitants. Around 2,400 people were killed that year, from a population of 6.2 million at the time.
In 2022, the murder rate dropped to 7.8 per 100,000 inhabitants, the lowest in the country’s history at that time. By 2023, the rate had further declined to 2.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, with only 154 killings recorded that year.
It now has the lowest homicide rate in Latin America.
Bukele’s methods have been criticised by human rights groups for alleged abuses, including arbitrary arrests and inhumane prison conditions
The shift in the travel advisory had been a persistent consideration for El Salvador, especially as the country aimed to bolster its burgeoning tourism industry.
For the majority of the former US president Joe Biden’s administration, El Salvador was assigned a Level 3 travel advisory, categorised as “Reconsider Travel,” which was the second-highest warning level.
In late March, several European countries changed their official travel advice for members of the LGBTIQ+ community travelling to the US, warning them that “other laws and customs” now operated there.
A man has been shot in the leg near the Clemenceau metro station in Brussels. His condition was initially described as critical but later as stabilised. https://t.co/ITzWjCRrDf
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 6, 2025
