El Salvador: 634 years in prison for Amadeo Yovany, alias 'Grillo,' leader of the Salvatrucha gang
The gang leader was convicted of 23 aggravated homicides, in addition to other crimes. A human rights organization says his conviction is illegal.
(Centr
El Salvador has put away one of the leaders of the Salvatrucha gang. Amadeo Yovany Hernández Perla, also known as "Grillo," was sentenced Tuesday to 634 years in prison after being convicted of charges of aggravated homicide and membership in terrorist organizations, in addition to aggravated extortion, aggravated robbery, theft and attempted homicide.
According to the sentence, Grillo is attributed a total of 23 aggravated murders perpetrated between 2011 and 2017 within Salvadoran borders. According to the Salvadoran judicial administration, the case was resolved by the Second Court B Against Organized Crime of San Miguel. The statement from the courts does not indicate whether Grillo was captured during the state of emergency that President Nayib Bukele's government launched in March 2022 to fight organized crime.
Amadeo Yovany Hernández Perla joins the more than 72,000 individuals that the government of El Salvador claims to have captured and prosecuted for their membership in criminal gangs.
The sentence of 634 years for Amadeo Yovany Hernández Perla caused a commotion in Salvadoran society. In a statement made on the radio, Abraham Abrego, a lawyer for the human rights association Cristosal, said that the conviction against Grillo is illegal.
According to Abrego, the Salvadoran Constitution prohibits life imprisonment. A sentence of 634 years' imprisonment is a de facto life sentence, since there is no possibility of serving it until its end. There is also no possibility in this case of obtaining a review or a reduction of sentence that is significant. "In short, this is sentence violates the Salvadoran Constitution," Abrego said.
Recently, it became known that the Salvadoran Security Forces perhaps one of the best known gangs in the country.
On social media, Salvadoran Minister of Justice and Public Security Gustavo Villatoro published some of Operation Triangle's achievements. The police operation aims to capture several MS-13 leaders in the national territory. For now, Villatoro's ministry claims to have captured at least 22 of them in recent weeks.
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