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Updated · CBS New York · Apr 21El Salvador Launches Mass Trial of Hundreds of Alleged MS-13 Gang Members
54 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Apr 21
- El Salvador has begun a mass trial of nearly 490 alleged MS-13 gang members, including several leaders, accused of thousands of murders.
- The defendants face charges for 47,000 crimes, including 29,000 homicides between 2012 and 2022, under President Nayib Bukele’s anti-gang crackdown.
- While the crackdown has sharply reduced crime, human rights groups warn of abuses, lack of due process, and the risk of punishing innocent people.
Why was a key MS-13 leader sent to El Salvador instead of testifying in a US court? Did secret government deals with MS-13 precede El Salvador's brutal war on gangs? What is the future for the 100,000 children whose parents were swept up in mass arrests? With public safety restored, what is the true human cost of El Salvador's mega-prisons? Can a fair verdict be reached when 486 people are tried together by anonymous judges? Is El Salvador's iron-fist security a blueprint for other nations or a human rights catastrophe?