El Salvador reforms constitution to allow for life sentences

RiddleMaster · 2026-03-18T04:40:53+00:00

El Salvador's Congress approved a constitutional amendment allowing life sentences for serious crimes like murder and terrorism, as President Bukele's government intensifies its anti-gang measures, despite concerns over human rights violations during a state of exception.

RiddleMaster

2026-03-18 04:40:53

Abstract generation in progress

March 17 (Reuters) - El Salvador’s Congress on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment to allow for life sentences for charges including murder, ‌rape, and terrorism, as the government of President Nayib Bukele continues its crackdown on the country’s criminal gangs.

While Salvadoran courts previously handed down sentences exceeding 100 years, the law capped ⁠actual time served at 60 years.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

The reform passed with the support of 59 lawmakers, with one lawmaker voting against.

“We will see who supports this reform and who will dare to argue that the constitution should continue to prohibit murderers and rapists from remaining in prison,” Bukele ‌wrote ⁠on social media before Congress passed the amendment.

The constitutional amendment comes a week after a group of international lawyers said that there are “reasonable grounds” to ⁠believe that crimes against humanity have been committed during the country’s controversial state of exception, which the government ⁠of President Nayib Bukele imposed four years ago.

The state of exception has allowed security forces ⁠to detain more than 90,000 people. Approximately 500 of those detainees have died in state custody.

Reporting by Reuters, Editing by Natalia Siniawski

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Suggested Topics:
Americas
Human Rights

X
Facebook
Linkedin
Email
Link

Purchase Licensing Rights

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.