Bukele signs reforms allowing life prison sentences for people as young as 12 : NPR
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele held a press conference with Chile’s president-elect at the presidential palace in San Salvador, El Salvador, January 30, 2026.
Salvador Melendez/AP
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Salvador Melendez/AP
SAN SALVADOR — Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Wednesday signed into law constitutional reforms allowing life prison sentences for people as young as 12, a controversial reform that follows other harsh measures imposed by the populist leader.
The change was passed last month by the Legislative Assembly, controlled by Bukele’s party, and would apply to people convicted of committing or complicit in crimes, including homicide, femicide, rape and gang membership. The measure was put forward by Bukele’s cabinet.
Previously, the maximum sentence in El Salvador was 60 years for adults and less for juveniles. The reforms set to take effect April 26 would create new criminal courts to try cases. They also provide for a mandatory review of life sentences several decades after the start of the sentence, depending on the age of the convict and the seriousness of his crimes.
Critics say the reforms are just the latest harsh measure taken by Bukele, more than four years after his war against gangs began.
Following an outbreak of gang violence in 2022, Bukele announced a then-temporary state of emergency, which became the new normal in the Central American country as it was extended for years. He suspended constitutional rights and imprisoned more than 1 percent of El Salvador’s population, often on vague charges and with little evidence. Prisoners are often tried in mass trials, and lawyers regularly lose track of their clients’ whereabouts.
In a mass trial last year, suspected gang members were sentenced to hundreds of years.
Bukele government officials have already promised that detained gang members will “never return” to the streets.
As part of the crackdown, Bukele’s government arrested around 91,650 people in El Salvador. Bukele said less than 10 percent of those people have been released.
That fueled accusations of human rights abuses and arbitrary detention, but also brought down homicide rates in a country long terrorized by gangs, giving Bukele growing popularity.
US President Donald Trump’s right-wing ally has been heavily criticized for weakening checks and balances and undermining El Salvador’s fragile democracy.
The sentencing changes are the latest in a series of constitutional reforms implemented by Bukele and his allies. Last year, the government pushed through one of its most controversial reforms, which would eliminate presidential term limits, paving the way for Bukele to remain in power indefinitely.
Emboldened by Bukele’s alliance with U.S. President Donald Trump, the government has also gone after its enemies, arresting critics and activists, and increasingly forcing journalists and opposition voices to choose between exile or prison.
Human rights organizations have documented cases of arbitrary detentions for years, and one even filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, claiming that the vast majority of those imprisoned under the state of emergency were arbitrarily, something the leader denies.
