El Salvador increases the maximum sentence for gang membership to 45 years in prison

The Congress of The Savior reformed the criminal code this Wednesday to increase the maximum sentence for belonging to gangs from 9 to 45 years in prison, a decision made in the midst of a state of emergency promoted by the president, Nayib Bukeleto curb the violence of these gangs.

The reform to article 345 of the Penal Code was approved with the votes of 76 of the 84 deputies of the unicameral Congress, controlled by allies of Bukele.

The reform establishes that “whoever takes part in an illicit group, association or organization” such as gangs “will be punished with twenty to thirty years in prison”, and if they are “leaders” the prison sentence will be from 40 to 45 years.

Before the reform, gang membership was punishable by three to five years in prison, and if you were a leader, the penalty was six to nine years.

A soldier stands guard at a checkpoint in the Iberia Community, in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. (EFE/ Rodrigo Sura).

“Today, belonging to gangs will be punished as it should be,” said Caleb Navarro, a deputy for the Nuevas Ideas party, an ally of the president.

The increase in the prison sentence for belonging to gangs occurs after, last Sunday and at the request of the president, the deputies approved an exceptional regime to deal with the violence of these groups, considered “terrorists.”

The measure, which restricts civil liberties and extends powers to the police and the army, was adopted after the gangs generated a wave of violence last weekend that left 87 dead.

The reform to the Penal Code also establishes that those who “promote, help, facilitate or favor the formation or permanence in groups” of gangs will receive a sentence of 20 to 30 years in prison.

According to the authorities, in addition to obtaining money through extortion, the gangs also profit financially from drug trafficking.

For this reason, Congress also reformed the so-called Law Regulating Activities Related to Drugs, in which it introduced a new clause to punish gang members who traffic drugs with no less than 20 years.

The Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs, among others, have some 70,000 members in El Salvador.

El Salvador closed 2021 with a homicide rate of 18 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, according to official data. The total number of homicides, 1,147, also represented a reduction compared to 2020, when there were 1,341.

Source: Elcomercio