El Salvador Launches Mass Trial Against Hundreds of MS-13 Members Accused of 29,000 Murders

Gate News message, April 22 — El Salvador has launched a mass trial against hundreds of alleged MS-13 gang members, charging them with 29,000 murders as part of President Nayib Bukele’s escalating crackdown on street gangs. The trial, which began on Monday, targets the gang’s national leadership, street-level commanders, program coordinators, and founders.

Prosecutors have filed charges for more than 47,000 crimes allegedly committed between 2012 and 2022. The gang’s top leadership faces additional charges of rebellion for allegedly seeking to establish a parallel state. The trial specifically addresses a March 2022 massacre that killed 87 people. Anonymous judges are presiding over the case via video link from high-security prisons where defendants are held.

Bukele’s state of emergency has resulted in the arrest of over 91,000 suspected gang members. The government claims gangs have controlled 80 percent of the nation’s territory and are responsible for 200,000 deaths over 30 years. However, Human Rights Watch and Cristobal have criticized the mass trials, citing concerns about insufficient individual evidence and reports of torture within the prison system, which has seen over 500 deaths and the detention of at least 1,600 minors. The Terrorism Confinement Centre (Cecot), designed to hold 40,000 inmates, currently houses many defendants in severely overcrowded conditions; authorities have announced plans to expand capacity to 80,000 prisoners.