Nearly 490 alleged members of the powerful Central American gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), including several alleged leaders, went on trial collectively in El Salvador on Monday, accused of thousands of murders.
El Salvador is conducting mass trials of thousands of suspected gang members, many of whom have spent years in prison without charge or visiting rights, as part of the anti-gang crackdown of iron-fisted President Nayib Bukele.
The Attorney General’s Office said 486 suspected MS-13 members were on trial for 47,000 crimes committed between 2012 and 2022, including 29,000 homicides.
The country’s court system said the trial included “members of the national leadership, street-level leaders, program coordinators from across the country, and founders of” MS-13.
Salvadoran authorities accuse the group of a range of crimes, including the killing of 87 people in a single weekend in March 2022.
