Mass murder trial in El Salvador for almost 500 alleged MS-13 members
CBS News • • world
Key Points:
- Nearly 490 alleged members of the MS-13 gang, including leaders, have gone on trial in El Salvador, accused of 47,000 crimes including 29,000 homicides committed between 2012 and 2022.
- The mass trial is part of President Nayib Bukele's aggressive anti-gang crackdown following a surge in gang-related killings, including 87 murders in a single weekend in March 2022.
- Bukele's government has arrested over 91,000 suspected gang members under a state of emergency, significantly reducing crime but drawing criticism for human rights abuses, lack of due process, and reports of torture.
- Trials are conducted en masse with anonymous judges delivering uniform sentences via video-link, raising concerns from human rights groups about potential miscarriages of justice and innocent detainees being punished.
- MS-13 and rival Barrio 18 gangs, designated terrorist organizations by the US, have long operated drug trafficking and extortion networks in Central America, with Bukele accusing them of causing massive violence and disappearances.
