SAN SALVADOR — A mass trial recently kicked off against 486 alleged gang members in El Salvador, marking another step in President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on gang violence. The mass trial, made possible through controversial emergency powers, charges members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, or MS-13, for more than 47,000 crimes from 2012-2022, including homicide, femicide, extortion, and arms trafficking.

The trial focuses on the gang’s role in El Salvador’s bloodiest weekend since its civil war, which saw 87 murders take place in March 2022 in response to government crackdowns on gang violence (The Guardian). The violence prompted President Bukele to declare a state of emergency, which has been continuously—and controversially—extended since. The state of emergency resulted in the suspension of constitutional rights and the detention of over 91,000 people suspected of membership in the MS-13 or Barrio 18 gangs (Reuters).

President Bukele’s government credits the emergency powers and accompanying crackdown with lowering the country’s homicide rate from 7.8 per 100,000 in 2022 to just 1.3 in 2025.

Although President Bukele’s harsh policies won him wide support in the Latin American country, others have highlighted problems with the mass trial. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated their concerns regarding human rights violations during the long-extended state of emergency (NBC News). The commission stated that the “regime suspends the rights to a legal defense and to the inviolability of communications, and also extends administrative detention timelines,” highlighting violations of the right to due process and access to legal counsel.

Beyond these concerns, others have criticized the secrecy of the trial, as criminal court proceedings in El Salvador are closed to the public. Ana Maria Mendez, the director for Central America of the Washington Office on Latin America, said “there is no way to see and verify that the information the prosecutors present is true. Secrecy is now the norm in El Salvador.” Roxana Cardona, a criminal defense lawyer in El Salvador, also argued that “mass trials are just formalities” that prevent lawyers from building an effective defense with their clients. El Salvador is currently the only Latin American country to allow mass trials.

While both President Bukele and El Salvador as a whole are understandably happy to see the homicide rate decline, mass trials should not become the norm. There are a few areas they seem especially problematic. First, justice does not come in a one-size-fits-all approach. Ignoring individual circumstances and degrees of involvement does not bring justice to victims of violence, but injustice to those wrongfully imprisoned. Second, the scale of such a trial may cause evidence to be overlooked and mistakes to be made. This weakness, paired with the secrecy of the Salvadorean criminal justice system, is especially troubling, and has the potential to contribute to the most important problem: socio-political risks. Trials that appear unfair, politically motivated, or in any way “rigged” can immediately begin to erode confidence in the judicial system. Faith and confidence in the judicial system is imperative for upholding the rule of law, social stability, accountability, public participation, and economic growth. If the population does not see the judicial system as a fair and reliable means of upholding the rule of law, they may turn their back on the government and even lend support to the very gangs President Bukele seeks to eliminate.

Because President Bukele currently enjoys support from a majority of the population, it is unclear whether these socio-political risks have borne fruit, though the threat remains. President Bukele and the Salvadorean government must not allow mass trials to become the norm, as they have the potential to not only threaten human rights and due process, but erode public confidence in the judicial system as a whole.