Seventy-nine women have been killed in El Salvador in 2019
Seventy-nine women have been killed so far in 2019 in El Salvador, a country considered one of the most violent in the world, informed the National Civil Police (PNC) on Saturday.
Between January 1 and March 29 of the current year there were 79 homicides, 31 less than those recorded in the same period of 2018 when they added 110, representing a decrease of 28.1 percent, explained the body of security.
The police entity did not provide details about the crimes.
Amnesty International (AI) considers El Salvador to be one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women, since in 2016 and 2017 alone it recorded feminicide rates of 16 and 12 per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively, higher than what is considered at the international level. international as an epidemic.
In 2018, the police attended a total of 3,916 cases of different types of violence against women, according to the director of the security body, Howard Cotto.
Authorities attribute the majority of violent deaths, including the murders of women, to the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13), Barrio 18 and other minority gangs, which have more than 60,000 members.
The homicide rates of between 103 and 50.3 per 100,000 inhabitants registered between 2015 and 2018 place El Salvador as one of the most violent countries in the world, even though they are not at war.
However, the military authorities point out that the country is experiencing an armed conflict of "low intensity" due to the constant clashes between the security forces and the gangs.
These gangs, a phenomenon considered as a legacy of the civil war (1980-1992) and strengthened by the deportation of gang members from the United States, have resisted the security plans implemented in the last four administrations.
According to analysts, the "maras" are one of the main problems that Salvadoran President-elect Nayib Bukele will face after taking power on June 1.
