A three-month mass trial targeting 485 alleged members of the international criminal gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, concluded on Wednesday in El Salvador. Prosecutors delivered their closing arguments, seeking maximum sentences for the defendants on charges including homicide, extortion, drugs, arms, and human trafficking.
The proceedings have drawn significant criticism from human rights groups, which argue that the trials infringe upon defendants’ rights, particularly under the Latin American country’s ongoing state of emergency. This state of emergency, enacted in March 2022, suspended several constitutional rights and has led to the detention of tens of thousands of Salvadorans.
Juan Pappier, Americas deputy director for Human Rights Watch, stated, “First, the police arrested thousands of people without investigation. Now, the courts are handing down mass convictions to hundreds without credible evidence or any real chance of defense.” He added, “This is not justice; it is giving a veneer of legality to the arrests of innocent people that should never have happened.”
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the gang members are on trial for their alleged involvement in a total of 14,420 crimes, including 444 killings, committed between 2012 and 2022. The prosecution has requested the maximum sentence for each crime, which could result in life imprisonment for some individuals, alongside a collective demand of $9 million in civil damages.
Prosecutors also presented arguments that MS-13, designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, utilized approximately 1,200 children in its criminal activities, exploited 638 women, and established 32 groups, with two of these operating from outside El Salvador. During the hearings, audio recordings of calls attributed to gang leaders, allegedly ordering killings and other crimes, were played as evidence.
The trial was conducted virtually, with defendants appearing on camera from their detention facility, the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). This megaprison, built by President Nayib Bukele’s government, prohibits visits, recreation, and education, and has also housed hundreds of migrants deported from the U.S. It remains unclear when a verdict is expected in the case.
El Salvador facilitated this form of collective trial through a July 2023 reform of its criminal code, which permits individuals detained under the state of emergency to be grouped for trial based on their gang affiliation or territorial operations. Officials report that since the state of emergency was imposed, over 92,480 people accused of belonging to or having ties with gangs have been imprisoned.
President Bukele has stated that 8,000 innocent people have been released. However, human rights organizations have registered more than 6,000 complaints of human rights violations and arbitrary detentions, and have documented the deaths of at least 547 people in custody.
This is the country’s second such mass trial of gang members. Last November, 45 members of the Barrio 18 gang were convicted of various crimes, including extortion and homicide, with one of their leaders sentenced to 397 years in prison. Among the MS-13 leaders currently on trial are Dionisio Arístides Umanzor Osorio, known as “El Sirra de Teclas”; Borromeo Henríquez Solórzano, alias “Diablito de Hollywood”; Carlos Tiberio Ramírez Valladares, or “Snayder”; and César Antonio López Larios, known as “Greñas.”
