All you could find out about MS-13 trial as ‘gang bosses’ face 47,000 crimes
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El Salvador has launched a trial against alleged MS-13 gang members for 29,000 murders, using anonymous judges and mega-prisons to crush a reign of terror
The MS-13 gang is facing charges for a staggering 29,000 murders(Image: El Salvador Attorney General’s Office/AFP via Getty Images)
- Hundreds of alleged members of the notorious MS-13 gang have been brought to court to face charges for a staggering 29,000 murders. The historic trial targets everyone from the gang’s top brass and founders down to the street soldiers who enforced their rules.
- Prosecutors have compiled a massive rap sheet of 47,000 crimes committed during a reign of terror between 2012 and 2022. The gang is even being charged with rebellion for trying to set up their own “parallel state” within the country.
- The current crackdown was sparked by a horrific weekend massacre in March 2022 that left 87 innocent people dead. In response, President Nayib Bukele declared a “war on crime” to reclaim the 80 per cent of the country previously controlled by gangs.
- To protect the legal system, anonymous judges are presiding over the case via video-link to avoid face-to-face contact with the defendants. The officials have vowed to use the “full force of the law” to settle a historic debt to the victims’ families.
- Most of the accused are being held in the Terrorism Confinement Centre, a huge facility designed for 40,000 inmates. Inside, rivals are packed together in cramped cells where 75 men must share just two toilets and sleep on metal bunks.
- President Bukele’s controversial state of emergency has led to more than 91,000 suspected gang members being snatched off the streets. He blames the criminal groups for 200,000 deaths over the last 30 years, including 80,000 people who vanished.
- This “iron fist” approach has turned El Salvador from a murder capital into one of the safest nations in Latin America. While the methods are intense, Bukele’s popularity has skyrocketed among locals who finally feel safe in their neighbourhoods.
- Despite the drop in crime, groups like Human Rights Watch warn that innocent people may be rotting in jail due to a lack of individual evidence. There are also grim reports of torture and over 500 deaths behind bars since the crackdown began.
- Read the full story here: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/hundreds-members-notorious-ms-13-37052363
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