MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Armed forces summoned as violent killings increase in El Salvador

“Dark forces are working to return to the past, but this government will not allow it,” Bukele said

The recent murders of 46 people in the last 72 hours all across El Salvador have led President Nayib Bukele to summon the army to assist the national police in patrolling the most violent areas.

Bukele said on Twitter that “we know that dark forces are working to return to the past, but this government will not allow it.”

According to local media, 12 people were killed Tuesday and 20 others Wednesday who are not victims of a war between gangs, but ordinary citizens, many of them minors.

Analysts also believe the explanation for the growing number of killings has to do with an alleged truce between gangs and Bukele's Government.

The final number of killings may vary since the final monthly report must be approved by the Interinstitutional Technical Committee made up of the Prosecutor's Office, Legal Medicine and Police authorities.

The murders have occurred in areas already prioritized by the Territorial Control Plan (PCT) and were in theory phase four of it, the incursion, was already underway.

Back in September, Justice Minister Gustavo Villatoro had highlighted a 75% reduction in murders in several municipalities where gang structures were already being dismantled by ther authorities. However, violent deaths in November resurfaced.

With 12 homicides Tuesday, 22 Wednesday and 12 Thursday things went back to a worrying normal. Wednesday would therefore be the day with the most homicides under Bukele, surpassing April 26, 2020, when 21 deaths were registered.

Ignacio García, from the International Federation for Human Rights and Justice, said that the situation regarding the increase in homicides in the last three days was apparently a question of “gang blackmail.”

“The murders are taking place in communities and neighbourhoods where it has already been known that gangs interact strongly. What could be happening is that these groups feel deceived and begin to seek to do harm,” he explained.

This theory would explain why ordinary citizens with no relation to gang issues were being targeted.

Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 9, Salvadorean Police has reported 966 homicides.