Man jailed for 1,335 years as El Salvador sentences almost 250 MS-13 gang members | El Salvador

El Salvador announced prison sentences for hundreds of gang members; Some of the convicts were sentenced to hundreds of years in prison.

attorney general’s office Published on X It said 248 members of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) street gang received “exemplary sentences” for 43 murders and 42 disappearances, among other crimes.

The date of the sentences or whether the defendants were tried en masse was not specified.

Sunday’s post stated that one man was sentenced to 1,335 years in prison, while 10 others were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 463 to 958 years.

President Nayib Bukele has been cracking down on gangs since March 2022 under a state of emergency that allows arrests without a warrant.

According to official sources, more than 90,000 people were detained and approximately 8,000 people were found not guilty and released.

Bukele’s campaign against gangs has reduced homicides in the Central American country to historic lows, but human rights groups accuse security forces of rights abuses.

According to the Salvadoran government, MS-13 and another gang, Barrio 18, are responsible for nearly 200,000 deaths over three decades.

The two gangs once controlled an estimated 80% of the country, and El Salvador had one of the highest murder rates in the world.

The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the groups “blackmailed the victims, who were business owners, by demanding different amounts of money in exchange for not harming them.”

“Some people had to close their businesses because they were afraid of threats.”

The United States has designated MS-13 and several other gangs in Central and South America as foreign terrorist organizations.