“Extraordinary measures”: Once tranquil Costa Rica eyes Salvadoran-inspired response to crime surge
ALVARO MURILLO and ISABEL WOODFORD, of Reuters, report on President Rodrigo Chaves’ efforts to tackle rising crime…
El Salvador says murders fell 70 per cent in 2023 as it cracked down on gangs
San SalvadorReuters The number of homicides in El Salvador dropped nearly 70 per cent during 2023, the Central American country’s security authorities said on Wednesday, crediting a prolonged state of emergency declared by the government of President Nayib Bukele to fight crime gangs. A police officer stands guard at a protest to demand help for […]
Killings hit record high in 2021 as post-lockdown stress grew – UN
Vienna, Austria Reuters The number of murders and other intentional killings surged to a record high across the world in 2021, driven in part by the stress and economic pressures of COVID-19 lockdowns, a UN report said on Friday. Around 458,000 people were killed intentionally, higher than the 400,000 to 450,000 recorded every year since […]
Costa Rica’s homicide rate rises in deadliest year ever
San Jose, Costa RicaReuters More than 656 people have been killed so far in Costa Rica’s deadliest year on record, official homicide data showed on Friday, though the government expects this figure to soar past 900 by the end of this year. Costa Rica’s homicides hit a record 654 last year according to the historically […]
Chileans buy more guns, private guards as security tops concerns
Santiago, ChileReuters After their pick-up truck was stolen at gunpoint outside their home in Santiago last June, Javiera Castillo and her partner began learning how to shoot a pistol to prevent future encounters. Castillo, 23, a student and small-business owner who lives in the middle-class neighborhood of Maipu in Santiago, is one of a record […]
El Salvador vows gang crackdown will go on as citizens cheer safer streets
San Salvador Reuters El Salvador’s state of emergency to combat gangs, which has widespread public support despite a growing prison population and allegations of human rights abuses, will be maintained until all criminals are captured, the country’s security minister told Reuters. Since President Nayib Bukele asked the country’s congress to approve a state of exception […]
El Salvador murders plummet by over half in 2022 amid gang crackdown
San Salvador, El SalvadorReuters Murders in El Salvador tumbled 56.8 per cent in 2022 amid a widespread crackdown on gang violence, the government said on Tuesday, extending a sharp drop in killings in a nation which for years had one of the world’s worst murder rates. Authorities registered a total of 496 homicides last year, […]
Sweden hits record with 60 shot dead in 2022
Stockholm, SwedenReuters Sixty people have been shot dead in Sweden this year, a record in modern times, the government said on Monday. Sweden has been hit by an epidemic of shootings in recent years which police and authorities blame on criminal gangs that operate in cities like the capital Stockholm. Flowers lie outside Malmo Latin […]
In El Salvador, discrepancy over deaths and mass graves alarms critics
San Salvador Reuters In El Salvador, testimony from police officers and conflicting statistics on mass graves are leading critics to question if homicides in the Central American country are being fully reported as access to official information tightens. Despite a group of police officers, prosecutors and forensic experts cross-checking statistics of homicides and mass graves, […]
El Salvador invokes emergency powers after surge in homicides
San Salvador, El Salvador Reuters El Salvador’s Congress approved on Sunday emergency powers that temporarily suspended some constitutional protections after the Central American country recorded a sharp rise in killings attributed to criminal gangs. Police reported a total of 62 homicides on Saturday in the nation of some 6.5 million people. It was the highest […]