Shackled and shaved: El Salvador holds mass trial for hundreds of gang members

Lead

El Salvador has initiated a mass trial of hundreds of alleged members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang (MS-13) at its high-security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a spectacle that has drawn both international attention and sharp criticism from human rights organizations. The proceedings, which began on April 23, 2026, involve defendants seated in neat columns, chained, shaved, and dressed in white, as prosecutors lay out accusations spanning murder, torture, and tens of thousands of crimes.

Coverage Comparison

Reports from multiple outlets converge on the core events but differ in framing and details. France 24 and South China Morning Post both emphasize the accusations of murder and torture, with France 24 adopting a more sensational tone, describing the proceedings as "horrifying" and quoting a security agent's dramatic reaction. The Guardian, meanwhile, leads with human rights concerns, highlighting the emergency powers under which many of the 91,500 detentions have occurred and the criticisms from groups like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

The coverage also diverges on the number of defendants: France 24 and SCMP report 220 defendants in the current trial, while The Guardian reports 486 alleged gang members on trial, accused of over 47,000 crimes between 2012 and 2022. The discrepancy may reflect different phases or groupings within the mass trial process, but it remains unresolved across sources.

Key Claims

• Collective Accusations of Murder: According to AFP reporters cited by France 24 and SCMP, 220 defendants are accused of collectively carrying out more than 29,000 murders. Testimony included a witness stating, "We burned her genitals and buttocks," describing an act attributed to gang members.

• Leadership on Trial: Among the defendants are approximately 20 alleged leaders and dozens of lieutenants, some with heavily tattooed faces and bodies. Notable figures include Borromeo Henriquez, nicknamed "The little devil of Hollywood," and Carlos Tiberio Ramirez, known as "Snaider of Pasadena."

• Broader Charges: The Guardian reports that in the larger collective trial, prosecutors have presented autopsies, ballistic analyses, and witness testimony, with charges including homicide, femicide, extortion, and arms trafficking. A single defendant could face up to 245 years in prison if convicted on multiple charges.

• Human Rights Concerns: Human rights groups, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, have warned that the collective prosecutions violate due process, blocking defendants from accessing legal counsel. The Commission called for an end to the state of emergency, which it says "suspends the rights to a legal defense and to the inviolability of communications, and also extends administrative detention timelines."

• Presidential Comparison: President Nayib Bukele has compared the trial to the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders, a statement carried by both France 24 and The Guardian.

Perspectives

The Salvadoran government, led by President Bukele, views the mass trial as a necessary measure to combat gang violence that has long plagued the country. Bukele's comparison to Nuremberg frames the proceedings as a historic reckoning with criminal organizations. Proponents point to a dramatic drop in homicide rates—from 7.8 per 100,000 in 2021 to 1.3 in 2022—as evidence that the crackdown is effective.

Human rights organizations, on the other hand, argue that the mass trials and the state of emergency under which suspects have been detained undermine fundamental legal protections. They express concern that innocent people may be caught up in the process, as the sheer scale of the collective prosecutions makes individual defenses nearly impossible.

Corrections and Context

The state of emergency, in effect since 2022, has been repeatedly renewed by Congress. The Guardian notes that this has led to the detention of over 91,500 people, a figure that has raised alarms internationally. The current trial is among the largest under these emergency powers, representing a notable escalation in Bukele's anti-gang strategy.

As the trial continues, the world watches to see how El Salvador balances security gains against the protection of legal rights—a tension that lies at the heart of the debate surrounding this unprecedented legal process.