El Salvador Begins Mass Trial of 486 Alleged MS-13 Gang Members
A Salvadoran court on Tuesday commenced a collective trial involving 486 alleged members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, known as MS-13.
This mass trial is among the largest under President Nayib Bukele's intensified crackdown on gang violence using emergency powers.
The defendants face charges related to over 47,000 crimes committed between 2012 and 2022.
These charges include homicide, femicide, extortion, and arms trafficking, with prosecutors presenting autopsies, ballistic analyses, and witness testimony as evidence.
The accused are detained across five prisons, including Cecot, a maximum-security facility opened in 2023 that symbolizes the government's zero-tolerance policy on gangs.
Prosecutors have requested maximum prison sentences for each crime, with some defendants potentially facing up to 245 years in prison if convicted on multiple counts.
This trial is taking place under a state of emergency that has been in effect since 2022 and repeatedly renewed.
Since its implementation, security forces have detained more than 91,500 people, and the Salvadoran Congress passed legislation permitting mass trials.
Human rights groups have expressed concerns that these collective prosecutions violate due process and restrict defendants' access to legal counsel.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reiterated these concerns, stating that the regime suspends rights to legal defense and the inviolability of communications, while extending administrative detention timelines.
Among those charged are alleged long-standing gang leaders who participated in a truce between the government and gangs from 2012 to 2014 during the presidency of Mauricio Funes.
The government has credited the crackdown under emergency powers with reducing the homicide rate to 1.3 per 100,000 people last year, down from 7.8 in 2022.
