El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele speaks during the inauguration ceremony of the Key Institute in Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador, March 19, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States gave El Salvador a safer travel rating on Tuesday that groups it with the least dangerous countries for Americans to visit, citing reduced gang activity and violent crime.
The U.S. State Department moved the Central American country from level two, which advises travelers to exercise increased caution, to level one, its safest rating, which encourages visitors take normal precautions.
In response to the new advisory, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, who is expected to visit Washington next week, said on X his country "just got the U.S. State Department's travel gold star: Level 1: safest it gets."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X, "President @nayibbukele's leadership has been crucial in improving the security of his country for foreign travelers."
The Trump administration has welcomed Bukele's recent moves to house in Salvadoran prisons criminals deported from the U.S., aiding U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to fulfill campaign promises to deport large numbers of migrants.
The administration's deportations to El Salvador have become the center of an ongoing legal battle.
The travel advisories range from level one to four with one being the safest.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward)
