Illegal drug trade in El Salvador

Illegal drug trade in El Salvador has included, according to some sources, trans-shipping of cocaine by the Nicaraguan Contras.

CIA and Contras cocaine trafficking in the US
Former DEA agent Celerino Castillo alleged that during the 1980s Ilopango Airport in El Salvador was used by Nicaraguan Contras for drug smuggling flights with the knowledge and complicity of the CIA. These allegations were part of an investigation by the United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. Castillo also testified before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Between 1996 and 1998 the Central Intelligence Agency investigated and then published a report about its alleged involvement in cocaine sales in the US. This was prompted by the journalist Gary Webb's report in the San Jose Mercury News alleging that the CIA was behind the 1980s crack epidemic.

Sex trafficking
El Salvador is one of the biggest sources for human trafficking. Most victims are females who are sold mainly for sex and children for forced labor. Trafficking offenders use fraudulent documentation to facilitate the movement of foreign victims. Salvadorans have been subjected to forced prostitution in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, the United States, Spain, and Italy.

Gang Crackdown
As of April 2021, over 65,000 people have been accused of having gang affiliation in El Salvador. This has led to each suspected member to be arrested which has overwhelmed the prisons in El Salvador. These arrest have been popular among the El Salvadorans. At first, human rights groups were concerned that the arrests were unjustified and had little to do with gang violence. Multiple U.S. government representatives expressed concern about the violence taking place in the country and the methods used to stop it. From March 22nd-27th 2022,there have been 87 murders. With this spike in murders, the El Salvador president Nayib Bukele, ordered law enforcement to arrest all suspects and send them to prison where they are being tortured by not feeding them in attempt to stop the crimes.

Crime rate drop
Ever since the President has ordered all of these arrest, in 2022 alone the crime rate dropped in half. To be exact, 56.2% decrease. Although El Salvador still has one of the highest crime rates in the world, it is a huge step in the right direction. Authorities registered 496 homicides in 2o22 which is 700 less than 2021. The government did not include deaths that involved law enforcement and gang violence. Although human rights groups don't necessarily agree with the direction El Salvador has taken this, El Salvadorans approve the mandates the President has set and will continue to do so.