The trial, which began in April, took place with Funes residing in Nicaragua.
Ex-President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for his involvement in negotiating with gangs during his presidency
El Salvador passed a law last year allowing trials in absentia. Funes was accused of illicit association and failure to fulfill his duties regarding the gang truce negotiated in 2012. He denied engaging in negotiations with the gangs or granting them any privileges.
Former Security Minister Gen. David Munguía Payes, who was also involved in the negotiations, received a sentence of 18 years in prison. Munguía Payes criticized the trial, stating that it was filled with irregularities and considering himself a political prisoner. Funes’s sentence was composed of eight years for illicit association and six years for failure to perform duties. Funes claimed that the state failed to substantiate the charges against him.
Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado countered Munguía Payes’s claims, stating via Twitter that they had proven the two former officials negotiated with the gangs, acting like gang members, in exchange for electoral favors. This is not the first time a former Salvadoran president has been sentenced for illegal activities during their term. In 2018, former President Tony Saca was sentenced to 10 years in prison for diverting over $300 million in state funds.
El Salvador has pursued Funes for other alleged crimes in several cases
In 2019, he was granted citizenship by Nicaragua. The country’s Supreme Court has classified gangs as terrorist organizations since 2015. Current President Nayib Bukele has also faced accusations of engaging in similar negotiations with gangs.
In December 2021, the U.S. Treasury claimed that Bukele’s government secretly negotiated a truce with street gang leaders, providing privileges to imprisoned gang leaders in exchange for reduced violence and political support. The truce reportedly collapsed in March 2022 when the gangs killed 62 people in a single day, prompting Bukele to declare war on the gangs and suspend certain rights.
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