The joint trial, which began Monday in San Salvador, is being conducted in an open hearing at an Organized Crime Court under a 2023 reform of El Salvador’s Penal Code. Of the 486 defendants, 413 are being held at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum-security prison that President Nayib Bukele ordered built. According to major media reports, many defendants watched the proceedings virtually from the prison. Another 73 alleged gang members are being prosecuted in absentia, as permitted by law, the Attorney General's office said.
The trial is part of President Bukele's iron fist approach against criminal groups, which has included a state of emergency that has been in place for four years to fight organized crime, according to major media reports. El Salvador once had one of the highest homicide rates in the world, with 103 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015. Since Bukele took office in 2019, government statistics show a drastic drop in homicides. The state of exception, imposed in March 2022, has suspended fundamental rights, including the right to be informed of the reasons for detention and the right to access legal counsel. According to major media reports, security forces can intercept telecommunications without a court order, and detention without a preliminary hearing is extended from 72 hours to 15 days.
For years, this structure has operated systematically, causing fear and mourning among Salvadoran families.
Human rights groups have criticized mass trials as an infringement of the rights of the accused to defend themselves. According to major media reports, human rights groups say Bukele's approach has violated due process. United Nations experts stated in an official statement that "mass trials undermine the exercise of the right to defense and the presumption of innocence of detainees." The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said in an official statement that it "maintains serious worries about the impact on human rights by the unjustified and excessive prolongation of the state of exception in El Salvador."
This is not the first mass trial in El Salvador. According to major media reports, in the first such collective trial in March 2025, 52 members of the Barrio 18 gang were sentenced to up to 245 years in prison. Separately, in the United States, research from two sources indicates that Wilson Arturo Constanza-Galdomez, Edis Omar Valenzuela-Rodriguez, and Jonathan Pesquera-Puerto were sentenced to life in prison for RICO conspiracy and murder related to MS-13. The investigation led to conviction of six MS-13 members, including three trial defendants, according to research from two sources.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights maintains serious worries about the impact on human rights by the unjustified and excessive prolongation of the state of exception in El Salvador.
According to research from two sources, MS-13 members are organized into cliques and must commit violence to increase status. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti said that the defendants committed murder and stabbing of young women and girls to advance in MS-13. Research from two sources indicates that MS-13 members must attack and kill rivals known as 'chavalas' whenever possible. According to research from two sources, in Baltimore, MS-13 maintained a rivalry with the 18th Street Gang.
In a specific case, research from two sources indicates that on April 25, 2020, Constanza-Galdomez, Valenzuela-Rodriguez, and others assaulted a man. The assault led to life sentences for the three defendants in the United States.
Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado said on social media: "For years, this structure has operated systematically, causing fear and mourning among Salvadoran families." The trial is expected to continue for an extended period, though no specific timeline has been announced. The exact number of crimes attributed to the defendants is over 47,000, but the precise figure may be higher. It remains unclear how many of the 73 defendants prosecuted in absentia have been apprehended.