In El Salvador, dozens of relatives of prisoners are urging the Supreme Court to declare upcoming “mass trials” of alleged gang members unconstitutional. The country’s Congress, which is controlled by President Nayib Bukele’s ruling party, approved special emergency provisions that allow individuals with established gang connections to be tried as a group. This means that the Attorney General’s office can use the same evidence to prosecute individuals linked by factors such as the location of crimes committed within a two-year period.
However, some critics are concerned that innocent individuals who were apprehended during a crackdown on El Salvador’s gangs, known as maras, launched in March of last year could face convictions alongside guilty gang members. Samuel Ramirez from the Movement of Victims of the Regime (MOVIR), which is assisting the suspects’ relatives, stated to reporters, “This law is perverse and arbitrary, its intention is to condemn numerous innocent people. If an individual resided in a community controlled by a gang and that gang committed a crime, they will be held accountable for that crime.”
In July, Justice Minister Gustavo Villatoro mentioned that up to 900 defendants from the same criminal network could be tried together. The provisions came into effect in August, but a specific trial date has yet to be scheduled. So far, the Ministry of Justice and courts have not responded to requests for comment on this matter.
Bukele, who is running for re-election in February, despite the constitutional prohibition against consecutive presidential terms, continues to actively pursue the popular crackdown on gangs, resulting in over 73,000 arrests. Central to this campaign is the establishment of a “mega-prison” located 45 miles (73 km) southeast of the capital, accommodating approximately 12,000 suspected members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and rival Barrio 18 gangs. Authorities claim it to be the largest prison in the Americas, with the capacity to hold around 40,000 inmates.
Reporting by Wilfredo Pineda and Nelson Renteria; written by Sarah Morland; edited by Robert Birsel.
