A member of the brutal MS-13 gang, labelled by former US President Donald Trump as "the worst gang in the world", has been handed a staggering prison sentence exceeding 1,300 years by prosecutors in El Salvador.
Historic Sentences for Hundreds of Gang Members
Marvin Abel Hernandez Palacios received a total sentence of 1,335 years for a catalogue of serious crimes including aggravated homicide, femicide, enforced disappearance, extortion, and illicit trafficking. The sentence was announced on Thursday by the country's Attorney General's Office.
He was not alone in receiving an extraordinarily long jail term. On 18 December, a total of 248 MS-13 members were convicted, with individual sentences ranging from 463 to 958 years. Prosecutors stated that the crimes of these individuals affected 169 victims.
A Litany of Brutal Crimes
The Central American prosecutor’s office detailed some of the specific atrocities committed. These included the disappearance and murder of siblings Karen and Eduardo Guerrero Toledo in December 2021, and the disappearance and femicide of footballer Claudia Jimena Granados in October 2021.
The gang's reign of terror also extended to systematic extortion. "They extorted victims who owned businesses, demanding different amounts of money in exchange for not harming them," the Attorney General's office said. "Some people had to close their businesses out of fear of the threats."
The 248 convicted individuals were found collectively guilty of a vast array of offences:
- 43 cases of aggravated homicide
- 42 cases of enforced disappearance
- 86 cases of extortion
- 3 cases of aggravated femicide
- 29 cases of solicitation and conspiracy to commit homicide
Context of a National Crackdown
This mass sentencing represents the latest major effort by Salvadoran authorities to dismantle the power of MS-13 and its main rival, Barrio 18. Prior to a significant government crackdown that began in 2022, the two gangs were estimated to control 80% of El Salvador.
The Central American nation has suffered one of the highest homicide rates globally, with the gangs blamed for approximately 200,000 deaths over the past three decades. The convicted members are being held in the country's high-security Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre.
The gang's notoriety extends internationally. Earlier this year, former US President Donald Trump formally designated MS-13 a terrorist organisation. He described the group as "probably the meanest, worst gang in the world" and "an evil group of people", adding "They're sick and deranged."
