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El Salvador Convicts 248 MS-13 Members, Including 1,335-Year Sentence

The cases reflect prosecutions under Bukele’s state of emergency that expanded police powers.

Prisoners are pictured at El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison
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Director Belarmino Garcia explaining gang members' tattoos at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, in San Vicente, El Salvador on April 04, 2025. The Cecot prison was presented to Salvadorans by President Nayib Bukele on national radio and television as the largest prison in the Americas, built for members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS 13) gang and the two Barrio 18 groups (Sureña and Revolucionaria). Following the deportation of hundreds of migrants from the United States to El Salvador, it became a resource for the Donald Trump administration in implementing its immigration policy. Alex Pena/Anadolu via Getty
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Overview

  • Prosecutors said 248 MS-13 members received “exemplary sentences” for offenses including 43 aggravated homicides and 42 enforced disappearances.
  • One defendant, Marvin Abel Hernández Palacios, was sentenced to 1,335 years, while 10 others received terms ranging from 463 to 958 years.
  • Authorities reported 169 victims across the cases, which also included aggravated femicide, extortion, illicit trafficking, and conspiracy to commit homicide.
  • The Attorney General’s announcement did not specify the dates of the sentencings or whether the defendants were tried en masse.
  • Since March 2022, the anti-gang crackdown has resulted in over 90,000 detentions with about 8,000 later released, and the United States this year designated MS-13 a terrorist organization.