The Salvadoran government has launched a mass trial against 486 alleged gang leaders of the Mara Salvatrucha‑13 (MS-13), including 22 supposed members of the group’s top echelon, known as the Ranfla Nacional, whom authorities accuse of ordering 29,000 homicides committed between 2012 and 2022.

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Walter Vladimir Sandoval, 25, was captured on March 30, 2022, just five days after the state of emergency declared by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. Four days later, on April 3, he was already dead: his body showed fractures and visible injuries to his face, knees and chest. He was the first detainee to die in custody under the state of emergency, according to police documents and a report by the organization Socorro Jurídico Humanitario (Humanitarian Legal Aid, or SJH). To date, at least 517 deaths have been documented.

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El Salvador began a mass trial on Monday against 486 members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang, including members of the national leadership known as the Ranfla Nacional, whom the government accuses, among other crimes, of ordering the massacre of 86 people during the last weekend of March 2022. That event triggered the establishment of a state of emergency by the government of Nayib Bukele, a measure that has since been renewed 49 times.

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Salvadoran Attorney General's Office will implement the use of AI in its investigations

While the trial against the gang members began with a dramatic spectacle, the Attorney General's Office announced it will begin implementing artificial intelligence to carry out its work. At an international AI conference held in San Salvador, called “SovAI 2026,” representatives of the Attorney General's Office announced that the “Sovereign AI Platform” will initially be used to receive, structure, and evaluate complaints filed by citizens. Authorities did not specify whether the use of artificial intelligence will be linked to processes related to the state of emergency. “What sounds like science fiction everywhere else is becoming a reality here. @FGR_SV will be the first justice institution in the world to operate with AI,” the National Artificial Intelligence Agency of El Salvador posted on its X account, along with photos of Attorney General Rodolfo González, announcing the “AI-Assisted Criminal Complaint System.” Bukele’s technological bets seem to be touching every aspect of Salvadoran life. Last week, the president announced that he will delegate a large part of the management of the health system to Google’s AI, Gemini. Previously, one of his biggest gambits failed: the use of Bitcoin as legal tender.