El Salvador holds mass trial for 486 alleged gang members
NBC News • • world
Key Points:
- A Salvadoran court has begun a mass trial of 486 alleged Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members, accused of over 47,000 crimes from 2012 to 2022, including homicide, femicide, extortion, and arms trafficking.
- The trial is part of President Nayib Bukele’s controversial crackdown on gangs under a state of emergency, which has led to over 91,500 arrests and authorized mass trials by Congress.
- Human rights organizations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have criticized the state of emergency for violating due process, restricting legal defense rights, and extending detention periods.
- Defendants are held in five prisons, including the maximum-security CECOT facility, with prosecutors seeking maximum sentences that could total up to 245 years for individuals convicted on multiple charges.
- Bukele’s administration credits the crackdown with reducing El Salvador’s homicide rate from 7.8 per 100,000 in 2022 to 1.3 per 100,000 last year.
