El Salvador sentences MS-13 members to 1,335 years in prison

El Salvador has announced prison sentences for several members of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang. One member, identified as Marvin Abel Hernandez Palacios, received the longest punishment: 1,335 years in prison.

El Salvador’s attorney general’s office announced that 248 members detained in the Central American country’s infamous CECOT prison have been given “exemplary sentences” for 42 homicides and 42 disappearances.

The office did not share details of the trial or date of the sentences. 10 other members received 463 to 958 years in prison for crimes committed between 2014 and 2022.

The El Salvadorian government accuses MS-13 and Barrio 18 of being responsible for killing nearly 2,00,000 people over three decades and has been cracking down since March 2022.

President Nayib Bukele’s administration has imposed a state of emergency allowing security forces to arrest without warrant. The efforts have proven fruitful as homicides are record low in the country.

Authorities have detained nearly 90,000 people and 8,000 of them have been freed after being found not guilty.

Earlier this year, the United States (U.S.) also designated MS-13 as a terrorist organization. President Trump declared the gang to be an evil group of people.

He said, “MS-13 is probably the worst and meanest gang in the world. They are sick and deranged.”