Former Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes (left), in exile in Nicaragua, was sentenced in absentia on Monday, May 30, by a court in San Salvador to fourteen years in prison for having negotiated a truce with the maras, the criminal gangs that reigned terror in his country.
The truce had taken effect in 2012 and had received the support of the Organization of American States (OAS) which had brought it “guarantor”. It only lasted a few months to a little over a year, according to the sources. This former head of state was sentenced to eight years in prison for belonging to illegal groups, as well as six years of deprivation of liberty for non-compliance with his duties, announced the Salvadoran general prosecutor’s office on his Twitter account .
In addition to Mr. Funes, his former Minister of Justice and Security, David Munguia Payes, was sentenced to eighteen years in prison (eight years for belonging to illegal groups, six years for failure to respect his duties and four years for arbitrary acts), according to the same source.
69,000 members of the maras imprisoned
The accused “allowed criminal gangs to strengthen themselves economically and territorially in exchange for reducing the homicide rate between 2011 and 2013 so that the government in place benefits and favors it for elections”explains the general prosecutor’s office.
Mr. Funes, 63, also prosecuted in El Salvador for corruption, found refuge in Nicaragua in 2016, which granted him nationality in 2019, closing the door to any possibility of extradition. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said in March 2022 ” the war “ to criminal gangs and his country has since been subject to a state of emergency. Over the past fourteen months, nearly 69,000 suspected members of the maras have been arrested, without warrants, and imprisoned.
Despite criticism from human rights NGOs and the Catholic Church on the expeditious nature of the method used, nine out of ten Salvadorans approve of this ” war “ mercilessly against the maras.