Gonzalez Leads Call to Improve Travel Guidance for El Salvador

The Congressional El Salvador Caucus has sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting that the State Department update El Salvador's Travel Advisory to "Level 1: Exercise normal precautions." The update is meant to reflect the improvements in safety El Salvador has made under President Nayib Bukele. Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) and Texas Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D), El Salvador Caucus Chairs, led the caucus in sending the letter.

Once considered the most dangerous country in the world, President Bukele now touts the country as the safest country in the Western Hemisphere. President Bukele has enacted a "tough-on-crime" policy, which he argues has helped his administration drastically reduce the power and influence of violent gang members in the country. His policies have led to the incarceration of more than 75,000 violent gang members, and El Salvador has been considered the safest country in the Western Hemisphere since 2024. Because of this, the caucus is calling on the United States to update its policies toward El Salvador to reflect its public safety.

El Salvador's current travel advisory is at "Level 3," meaning that travelers should "reconsider travel" due to "serious risks to safety and security."

Florida Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar (R) and Anna Paulina Luna (R) joined the bipartisan delegation in urging the State Department to make the change.

“Through safety and lasting peace, prosperity for El Salvador is on the horizon," the members wrote in the letter. "Of course, this prosperity depends in large part on the blessing of the international community, and this blessing is most powerful when coming from El Salvador’s most powerful and benevolent neighbor: the United States of America.”

El Salvador's homicide rate has significantly declined from a high of 104 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 to 2.4 in 2024, which is less than that of almost every major city in the United States.