SAN SALVADOR, Aug 31, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Officials in El Salvador have postponed the Monday court date at which hundreds of alleged gang leaders are expected to be sentenced to thousands of years in prison.

The reading of verdicts scheduled for Monday "has been suspended," the president's office said in a message to reporters, adding that a new date would be announced without explanation for the postponement.

Mass trials are part of an unprecedented crackdown on crime launched by President Nayib Bukele, who enjoys strong popularity at home for his hardline policies against gangs.

Those on trial for allegedly belonging to the Mara Salvatrucha gang (MS-13) are expected to receive prison sentences of thousands of years.

The 485 alleged leaders face over 47,000 charges, including homicide, femicide, extortion, drug trafficking and forced disappearances.

Earlier, announcing the date of the verdicts on X, Max Munoz, deputy organized crime prosecutor, said the court would impose "sentences of thousands of years" on the defendants.

"These people are definitely not getting out of the prison system," he said at the time.

Bukele, who rules with absolute power and will seek a third presidential term next year, has compared the mass trials to the Nuremberg trials of Nazis in the 1940s.

Since he declared a war on gangs in 2022, over 90,000 people have been locked up in extrajudicial circumstances.

Human rights groups accuse the government of committing crimes against humanity and imprisoning innocent people.

According to an Amnesty International tally, hundreds of people have died in custody.

MS-13 is one of Central America's most powerful criminal gangs and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.