A court in San Salvador sentences 26 MS-13 members to prison terms of up to 45 years

Nineteen defendants with the rank of homeboy received 25 years in prison and three collaborators were sentenced to 20 years. /(Illustrative image Infobae)A court in San Salvador convicted 26 alleged members of the Alaskas Locos Salvatrucos, of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), to sentences of up to 45 years in prison for the crime of illicit associations, according to Centros Judiciales El Salvador. The accused were identified as members of the structure that operated in various parts of Soyapango and Ilopango. The ruling was issued by the Fifth Organized Crime Court of San Salvador, as part of the judicial proceedings against gang structures that form part of the security policy promoted by the government of President Nayib Bukele. According to the information released by the Salvadoran judicial institution, four of those convicted received the highest sentences. The court considered them clicas runners, a category referring to leadership positions within the criminal organization, and imposed 45 years in prison on each of them. Another 19 defendants, identified with the rank of homeboy, were sentenced to 25 years in prison for illicit associations. The remaining three accused, identified as collaborators of the structure, received sentences of 20 years for the same crime. The Alaskas Locos Salvatruchos clica operated in areas of the municipalities of Soyapango and Ilopango./ (Centros Judiciales El Salvador)The ruling also included additional sentences for two of the defendants for crimes related to weapons and drug trafficking. According to Centros Judiciales El Salvador, Milton Juley Ibáñez Cabrera was given an additional ten years in prison for illegal or irresponsible possession, carrying, or transport of firearms. Meanwhile, Carlos Alfredo Guzmán Escobar received an additional 20-year sentence for possession with intent to traffic. The released information did not specify whether the sentences must be served cumulatively nor did it detail the specific acts attributed to each of those convicted. The prosecution was based on the crime of illicit associations, one of the legal figures that Salvadoran authorities have used in recent years against people accused of belonging to or collaborating with gangs. The Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, is one of the criminal organizations pursued by the Salvadoran state. The process is part of the state offensive against gangsThe fight against gangs occupies a central place in the security strategy of Bukele's government. The offensive intensified with the state of exception, a measure that expanded the powers of the security forces and modified procedures related to detentions and criminal proceedings. Authorities maintain that El Salvador has maintained a trend of declining homicides in 2026, thanks to the state of exception and current security strategies. /(PNC)Salvadoran authorities have attributed to that policy a reduction in homicides and a weakening of gang structures in neighborhoods and municipalities across the country. Human rights organizations, on the other hand, have questioned the scope of the mass detentions and have warned about reports of arrests without sufficient evidence, difficulties for the defense, and lack of access to information about detained persons. The case of the Alaskas Locos Salvatruchos shows the continuity of court proceedings against alleged members of these networks. The structure operated, according to the judicial report, in Soyapango and Ilopango, two areas of the department of San Salvador where gangs maintained a presence for years. The sentence was announced by Centros Judiciales El Salvador through its official channels. The institution also released images of some of the defendants during the court hearings. The ruling sets sentences of between 20 and 45 years for the 26 convicted, to which are added the sanctions imposed on Ibáñez Cabrera and Guzmán Escobar for crimes related to weapons and drug trafficking.