A landmark mass trial involving 485 alleged members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang concluded on Wednesday in El Salvador after nearly three months of hearings.

The case, one of the largest criminal proceedings in the country's history, centers on charges including homicide, extortion, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and human trafficking. Prosecutors allege the defendants were responsible for 14,420 criminal offenses, including 444 murders, committed between 2012 and 2022.

During closing arguments, the Public Prosecutor's Office requested the harshest penalties permitted under Salvadoran law, with some defendants facing life imprisonment. Prosecutors are also seeking approximately $9 million in civil damages.

According to prosecutors, MS-13 operated an extensive criminal network that allegedly recruited around 1,200 children into gang activities and exploited 638 women. Authorities also claim the organization maintained 32 operational groups, two of which allegedly conducted activities from outside El Salvador.

Throughout the proceedings, prosecutors presented audio recordings they said captured gang leaders ordering killings and directing other criminal operations, using the material to support allegations of coordinated criminal activity.

Among the high-profile defendants are alleged MS-13 leaders Dionisio Arístides Umanzor Osorio, known as "El Sirra de Teclas"; Borromeo Henríquez Solórzano, alias "Diablito de Hollywood"; Carlos Tiberio Ramírez Valladares, known as "Snayder"; and César Antonio López Larios, also known as "Greñas."

The proceedings were conducted virtually, with defendants appearing by video link from the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), the high-security prison built under President Nayib Bukele's administration to house suspected gang members.

CECOT has become a central feature of El Salvador's anti-gang campaign. The facility operates under strict security measures and has also housed migrants deported from the United States.

The verdict has not yet been announced.

The trial has drawn criticism from international human rights organizations, which argue that the proceedings were made possible by emergency measures that have weakened legal protections for defendants.

El Salvador has remained under a nationwide state of emergency since March 2022, following a surge in gang-related killings. The emergency decree suspended several constitutional rights and granted authorities expanded powers to arrest suspected gang members.

A legal reform enacted in July 2023 also authorized collective trials, allowing defendants to be prosecuted in large groups based on alleged gang affiliation or territorial connections.

Human Rights Watch criticized the proceedings, arguing that mass arrests and collective trials undermine due process.

"First, the police arrested thousands of people without investigation. Now, the courts are handing down mass convictions to hundreds without credible evidence or any real chance of defense," said Juan Pappier, the organization's deputy director for the Americas.

He added that the process "is not justice" and warned that it risks legitimizing arbitrary arrests.

The Bukele administration has defended its security campaign as a decisive response to decades of gang violence that once made El Salvador one of the world's most dangerous countries.

Government officials say that more than 92,480 people accused of gang membership or collaboration have been detained since the state of emergency began. President Bukele has acknowledged that approximately 8,000 innocent people have been released after their arrests.

Human rights organizations, however, report more than 6,000 complaints of alleged human rights abuses and arbitrary detentions, while documenting the deaths of at least 547 detainees in state custody.

Despite the criticism, Bukele's anti-gang policies continue to enjoy broad domestic support, with many Salvadorans crediting the government for dramatically reducing gang violence and improving public security.

The MS-13 case marks El Salvador's second major collective gang trial. In November last year, 45 members of the rival Barrio 18 gang were convicted on charges including homicide and extortion, with one gang leader receiving a 397-year prison sentence. (ILKHA)