El Salvador homicides drop; experts point to virus lock-down

[Judi Lynn]

By MARCOS ALEMAN
April 1, 2020

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador’s once-startling homicide numbers have fallen again, the government reported Wednesday, and some experts said the lock-down for the coronavirus pandemic may be playing a role.

Videos and audios have circulated of street gang members enforcing the lock-down, though the government says the decline is due to law enforcement measures.

The Central American country said there were 65 homicides in March, an average of 2.1 a day in a country that once saw as many as 600 slayings in some months.

Public Safety and Justice Minister Rogelio Rivas wrote in his Twitter account that “during this period (March) there were four days without a single murder,” something once almost unheard of in El Salvador, where street gangs virtually control some neighborhoods.

More:
https://apnews.com/f7f8f01270f19b3f5a80567f9a09c28c?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningwire&pnespid=i.Npt.wEAgaNw2gGwraY1763GqNKe4BkkyNJCj3U