For decades, life choices were bleak for many in El Salvador: Leave or die. Dubbed the \u201cmurder capital of the world,\u201d there was an average of a homicide an hour in early 2016, in this country of just 6 million people \u2014 two million fewer than call New York City home. Gang warfare drove an exodus of Salvadorans, mostly north to the US. But now, the security situation is so different that people are returning, even after building good new lives over decades in the US. <\/p>\n
When Victor Bola\u00f1os and his wife, Blanca, lost their asylum case in a US immigration court, their \u2018American dream\u2019 came crashing down. When they agreed to accept a voluntary departure order, the couple knew they had to leave behind the life they had been building for over 15 years in Denver and return to their native El Salvador and the conditions that had made them flee. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe came back 6 years ago, and everything was unsafe,\u201d Victor recalls, seated in the modest home the couple now shares in the capital, San Salvador. At 65, his voice carries the weight of what they faced upon their return in 2018. \u201cWhen we came back the situation seemed difficult because of the insecurity, lots of robberies, lots of gangs.\u201d <\/p>\n
But a couple of years after their return, something unexpected happened. The relentless daily violence eased, and streets began to calm. The suffocating fear that had defined daily life started to fade. <\/p>\n
El Salvador, once synonymous with violence and waves of emigration, saw a dramatic drop in crime. For many citizens, this shift offered more than just safety \u2014 it offered much needed hope. The world, too, took notice. Suddenly, the small Central American nation seemed to be reinventing itself under Bukele, who was elected President in 2019 at the age of 37. When his New Ideas party later took control of Congress, it was easier for rules to be bent or broken. Bukele won re-election, even though the country\u2019s constitution had barred anyone standing for a second term. A \u201ctemporary\u201d state of emergency granting authoritarian powers of detention is now more than two years old. Human Rights Watch says that even children are being caught up in \u201csevere human rights violations.\u201d <\/p>\n
Yet in San Salvador, Blanca sits in her living room, carefully crafting handmade jewelry. \u201cNow, one feels safe, freedom is felt in our country,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
She and her husband, Victor, say the improved security has allowed them to start a small jewelry business from their home, something that once seemed impossible. \u201cNow you can have a business, if you look, there are entrepreneurs everywhere in the country,\u201d Blanca says, reflecting on how, not long ago, gang extortion would have crippled any such venture. <\/p>\n
For decades, people from Central America, particularly from the Northern Triangle of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, have fled violence and insecurity, seeking protection and opportunity in the US. But new data from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reveals a surprising trend \u2014 fewer Salvadorans are now heading north. <\/p>\n
In 2022, CBP recorded more than 97,000 encounters with Salvadoran citizens at the Southern Border. By 2023, that number fell to just over 61,000, and 2024 is on track for an additional decline compared to 2023. <\/p>\n
While these numbers may appear promising, the root causes of migration remain complex.\u202f Many Salvadorans still leave their country due to economic hardship and lack of opportunity. Although El Salvador\u2019s economy has shown slow, steady growth since Bukele took office, according to the World Bank, the nation still struggles to provide sufficient opportunities for its citizens. <\/p>\n
For the past 27 years, Diego Morales has built a life far from home. The 48-year-old real estate investor, husband, and father of three left El Salvador in 1997, chasing the safety, stability, and opportunity that the US had to offer. The idea of returning had never crossed his mind \u2014 until the grim stories of violence that had haunted his homeland for so many years were replaced by tales of newfound safety. <\/p>\n
Diego\u2019s childhood was marred by a constant sense of danger.\u202f \u201cI\u2019d wake up, go to school and find dead people on the street,\u201d he recalls, his voice bearing the burden of the painful memories as he sits inside his well-kept, suburban Houston home. <\/p>\n
But today, El Salvador is no longer the country he fled. \u201cNow it\u2019s safe and many people are going back,\u201d Diego says, his words a reflection of the optimism spreading among Salvadorans and others abroad. <\/p>\n
The country\u2019s reputation has dramatically shifted. Once known for violence, El Salvador is now attracting waves of investors. \u201cMany people, even Americans \u2026 we have friends from Florida, from Austin, from Hawaii, looking to buy (property),\u201d he says, a sign of just how far the nation has come. <\/p>\n
Diego himself is preparing for a return to the land he once left behind. He has already invested in Tamanique, his hometown about an hour\u2019s drive from the capital, where he built a beach resort that he now runs remotely. <\/p>\n
Along the Salvadoran coastline, you can find beach towns like El Tunco, El Zonte, and La Libertad buzzing with new construction, capturing the attention of tourists and real estate developers eager to capitalize on the country\u2019s rebirth. Cliffs that were once gang lookouts are now being considered scenic locations for hotels. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as President Bukele brought security to this country, everything went up (in value),\u201d Diego says, adding that land that cost around $100,000 five years ago is now going for ten times that price. <\/p>\n
And the Salvadoran dream is not just his \u2014 his 23-year-old son, Jairo, a natural-born US citizen also plans to follow in his father\u2019s footsteps. \u201cWe\u2019ve had conversations\u2026 it\u2019s already starting,\u201d Jairo says, his eyes lit with the promise of returning to his roots. <\/p>\n
El Salvador\u2019s government is courting those who left with a program of tax exemptions on belongings and vehicles for citizens who return home. Since 2022, nearly 19,000 Salvadorans have moved back under this initiative, according to government figures. <\/p>\n
A decade or so ago gangs like MS-13 and Barrio 18 terrorized communities, extorting businesses and waging brutal turf wars over control of neighborhoods, and El Salvador was the most violent nation in the Western Hemisphere, according to\u202fInSight Crime. <\/p>\n
But something extraordinary has happened since then. By 2022, the number of murders began to drop dramatically, and the next year there were 154 homicides \u2014 a staggering 97.7% decrease compared to 2015, according to government figures. Bukele even tweeted that his country\u2019s homicide rate was the lowest in all the Americas. <\/p>\n
The sharp decline followed Bukele bringing in emergency measures giving police the power to detain suspects without charges for up to 15 days and deploying the military across the nation. The new rules, which are still in effect, allowed an unprecedented crackdown on gang activity, with more than 80,000 people detained since the state of emergency began in March 2022. <\/p>\n