Officials in El Salvador say the small yet horrifically violent country has set yet another record in criminal violence after at least 51 people were killed in a single day this week.
While most nations would find such a total shocking, for gang-ridden El Salvador this is simply another day like any other.
The National Civil Police confirmed that Thursday’s death toll surpassed the mark of 45 killed on a single day just one week ago.
Officials in the nation of just 6 million attribute the surge in violence to a government crackdown that has led to bloody gunfights between police and criminals. A wave of arrests have left prime gang turf up for grabs, causing a surge in gang battles which has added to the bloody total.
Police on Friday also confirmed that they found the body of a police officer, the 45th this year to die in the struggle with gangs. Six prison guards and sixteen soldiers have also been killed this year.
In 2014 the government says 3,942 people were murdered, an increase of 1,429 over 2013.
El Salvador is one of the most dangerous places in the world, with a homicide rate of 69.2 per 100,000 in 2011, which was far from the peak in violence.
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