The number of homicides in El Salvador dropped nearly 70% 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. Justice and Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro said 154 murders were committed last year, down from 495 the year before. That implies a homicide rate of 2.4 per every 100,000 people, which Villatoro said was the lowest in the Americas apart from Canada.
A Saratoga Springs police officer was legally justified in shooting and killing a Bluffdale man in December, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.