A member of the notorious MS-13 gang has been sentenced to more than 1,300 years in prison in El Salvador for his involvement in a string of violent crimes, prosecutors said.
Marvin Abel Hernandez Palacios received a total sentence of 1,335 years on Thursday after being convicted of multiple offences, including aggravated homicide, aggravated femicide, enforced disappearance, extortion, illicit trafficking and involvement in criminal groups, according to a statement from El Salvador’s Attorney General’s Office.
Hernandez Palacios was among 248 MS-13 members sentenced on December 18 as part of a sweeping prosecution targeting the gang. Individual sentences handed down ranged from 463 to 958 years, US media outlet CBS News reported.
Prosecutors said the convictions were linked to crimes affecting 169 victims, including several high-profile murder and disappearance cases. These included the disappearance and killing of siblings Karen and Eduardo Guerrero Toledo in December 2021, the enforced disappearance and femicide of footballer Claudia Jimena Granados in October 2021, and the murders of two university students who went missing between 2019 and 2020.
Authorities also detailed widespread extortion carried out by the gang, with members demanding payments from business owners in exchange for protection. Prosecutors said many victims were forced to shut down their businesses due to fear of violent retaliation.
In total, the convicted MS-13 members were found guilty of 43 counts of aggravated homicide, 42 cases of enforced disappearance, three cases of aggravated femicide, 86 extortion cases, 29 counts of conspiracy to commit homicide, 32 cases related to illicit trafficking preparations, five cases involving illegal occupation of property, and multiple charges of criminal association.
MS-13, along with its rival gang Barrio 18, once controlled an estimated 80 per cent of El Salvador before a government crackdown launched in 2022. The country has long struggled with one of the world’s highest homicide rates, with the two gangs believed to be responsible for around 200,000 deaths over the past three decades.
Earlier this year, former US president Donald Trump designated MS-13 a terrorist organisation, describing it as “probably the meanest, worst gang in the world” and “an evil group of people.”
