Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Courts in El Salvador have imposed prison sentences totaling centuries on members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, or MS-13, in one of the harshest judicial decisions since the country launched its anti-gang offensive under President Nayib Bukele.
The Attorney General's Office said 248 MS-13 members received what it described as "exemplary sentences" for their involvement in 42 murders and 42 disappearances, as well as other serious crimes.
Among the sentences, a court condemned Marvin Abel Hernández Palacios to 1,335 years in prison, while 10 other convicted gang members received terms that ranged from 463 to 958 years. According to prosecutors, the crimes were committed between 2014 and 2022.
Since March 2022, Bukele has confronted gangs under a state of emergency that allows arrests without judicial warrants and extends pretrial detention periods.
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