A court in El Salvador is set to issue verdicts against alleged gang leaders in a mass trial championed by President Nayib Bukele next week, an official said Wednesday.
Salvadoran authorities are conducting mass trials of thousands of suspected gang members as part of an unprecedented crackdown on crime.
Bukele, who calls himself the "world's coolest dictator," enjoys strong popularity at home for his hardline policies, which have also drawn condemnation for severe rights breaches.
Those on trial for allegedly belonging to the Mara Salvatrucha gang (MS-13) are expected to receive prison sentences of thousands of years on Monday.
The 485 alleged leaders face over 47,000 charges, including homicide, femicide, extortion, drug trafficking and forced disappearances.
Deputy organized crime prosecutor Max Munoz announced the date of the verdict on X.
In June, Munoz said the court would impose "sentences of thousands of years" on the defendants.
"These people are definitely not getting out of the prison system," he said at the time.
Bukele, who rules with absolute power and will seek a third presidential term next year, has compared the mass trials to the Nuremberg trials of Nazis in the 1940s.
Since he declared a war on gangs in 2022, over 90,000 people have been locked up in extrajudicial circumstances.
Human rights groups accuse the government of committing crimes against humanity and imprisoning innocent people.
According to an Amnesty International tally, hundreds of people have died in custody.
MS-13 is one of Central America's most powerful criminal gangs and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.
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