An AI-generated image created for Our Life in El Salvador, illustrating the peace and freedom families experience in the country today.
When I read the latest El Salvador homicide figures in this morning’s Diario El Salvador, I began thinking about the country I first visited in 2004.
When I first became interested in visiting El Salvador in the early 2000s, almost everything I heard about the country was negative.
News reports focused on gangs, violent crime, poverty, and the lingering effects of the civil war. Friends and others who knew I was considering a trip questioned why I would want to visit a place they believed was so dangerous.
I understood their concerns. At that time, the international image of El Salvador was shaped almost entirely by its problems. If you depended only on the news, you might have believed danger was waiting around every corner.
However, I wanted to see the country for myself.
Today, more than two decades later, El Salvador has recorded the lowest number of homicides in Central America during the first half of 2026. Reading that report in this morning’s Diario El Salvador caused me to reflect on how much the country has changed—and how different my own experience has been from the image I was given before my first visit.
My First Visit in 2004
I first came to El Salvador in 2004. I arrived aware that the country had serious problems, but I also came with an open mind.
What I found was more complicated than what I had seen in the news.
There were dangerous areas, and the gang problem was real. People had to be careful about where they traveled, especially if they were unfamiliar with the country. However, the violence was concentrated mostly in certain communities and neighborhoods.
I avoided those areas, followed the advice of people who knew the country, and used common sense. During that first visit, I never encountered any problems.
That has continued to be my experience during all the years since.
I am not suggesting that the old security problems were exaggerated. They were very real, especially for Salvadorans who lived or operated businesses in gang-controlled communities. Many business owners were forced to pay extortion simply to remain open. Bus drivers, market vendors, store owners, and working families lived with threats that visitors did not always see.
For those people, crime was not something they read about in a newspaper. It was part of their daily lives.
A Country Divided by Invisible Boundaries
During the years before the security situation improved, El Salvador often felt like a country divided by invisible boundaries.
Most visitors would not recognize those boundaries. A street could look perfectly normal, but local people knew where they could and could not go. In some communities, crossing from one gang-controlled area into another could be dangerous, particularly for young Salvadorans.
Families adjusted their lives around those realities. Businesses closed early. Some people avoided visiting relatives who lived in another neighborhood. Public transportation workers faced constant threats. Many Salvadorans left the country because they could no longer live safely in their own communities.
At the same time, much of El Salvador continued with ordinary life. Families went to work, children attended school, churches held services, and people visited beaches, parks, restaurants, and small towns.
That was the El Salvador I came to know—a beautiful country carrying a serious burden that was often invisible to outsiders.
The Numbers Tell a Different Story Today
According to the July 20 report from Diario El Salvador, El Salvador finished the first six months of 2026 with the lowest number of homicides in Central America. Honduras and Guatemala ended the same period with significantly higher totals.
June was especially notable. The Police reported only one homicide during the entire month, making it the lowest monthly total recorded in the country’s official statistics.
These figures would have seemed almost impossible when I first began thinking about visiting El Salvador more than 20 years ago.
There is a difference between comparing the total number of homicides and comparing homicide rates based on population. However, by either measure, El Salvador’s transformation has been substantial. A country once widely known for violence is now reporting security figures that place it ahead of its Central American neighbors.
That is not a small achievement.
Safety Is More Than a Statistic
Homicide statistics are important, but the real story is what those numbers mean in the daily lives of Salvadorans.
Improved security means a shopkeeper can open a business without worrying about a gang member demanding part of the earnings. It means a family can visit a park or attend an evening event without the same level of fear. Children can grow up without being pressured to join a gang simply because of where they live.
It also means Salvadorans can travel more freely within their own country.
Historic centers that were once avoided are active again. Families are returning to public spaces. Restaurants and small businesses stay open later. Tourists are visiting communities that would not have been considered destinations a few years ago.
Security has helped create the conditions for tourism, investment, construction, and local business growth. Investors will always examine the economic numbers, but they also want to know whether their employees, customers, and property will be safe.
The improvement in security has changed that conversation.
The Country I Know Today
I have lived in El Salvador since November 2011, and I have watched the country change in ways I could not have imagined during my first visit.
El Salvador is not perfect. No country is completely free of crime, and people should always use common sense. There are also continuing debates about the government’s security policies, the state of exception, and the protection of individual rights. Those discussions are important and should not be ignored.
At the same time, it would be difficult to deny what ordinary people can now see and feel in their communities.
The fear that controlled so many daily decisions has been greatly reduced. Places once associated with gangs are rebuilding their identity. Business owners who suffered under extortion can work with greater freedom. Families are returning to streets and public spaces that once belonged to criminals.
For someone like me, who remembers what people said about El Salvador in the early 2000s, the difference is remarkable.
Seeing Beyond the Old Image
One of El Salvador’s remaining challenges is changing the international image that developed during its most violent years.
Some people outside the country still think of El Salvador as it was 15 or 20 years ago. They remember the headlines but have not followed the changes. They may not realize that the country they once feared has become one of the safest in the region based on its homicide figures.
I understand their hesitation because I heard the same warnings before my first visit.
However, I am glad I did not allow those warnings to make the decision for me. I came to El Salvador, saw the country with my own eyes, and discovered a place very different from the one presented in the news.
There were problems, but there was also beauty, kindness, family, and a strong sense of community. Those qualities were always here. Today, more people can experience them without the shadow of gang violence controlling where they go and how they live.
A Change Worth Recognizing
The latest homicide figures represent more than another favorable statistic. They show how far El Salvador has traveled from the country I first visited in 2004.
For many Salvadorans, the change is deeply personal. It can be measured in businesses no longer paying extortion, communities no longer divided by gangs, and families able to enjoy their country with greater peace of mind.
I have never personally encountered a security problem during my visits or throughout the years I have lived here. I know that others were not as fortunate, especially during the worst years of gang control. Their experiences should never be forgotten.
That is also why today’s progress matters so much.
The El Salvador I first came to know was a beautiful country struggling under a terrible burden. The El Salvador of today is safer, more open, and moving forward with a confidence that was difficult to imagine two decades ago.
For those of us who witnessed both periods, the difference is not only visible in the numbers. We can feel it in everyday life.
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