When President Nayib Bukele took office in 2019, he promised to increase the number of military personnel to 40,000 troops. Today, it has reached 24,500, the highest compared with Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, where there are 27,460 police officers.

La Prensa Gráfica newspaper indicated that in the last five years, the defense budget has increased from 141 to 250.6 million dollars in 2023. The military forces currently participate in missions in the war declared against gangs along with the police.

The data published in the digital magazine states that El Salvador is the second Central American country that allocated more budget to defense and security tasks, including investments in the operation of the Police and Armed Forces and the purchase of sophisticated armaments and armored vehicles, among others.

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