Bukele signs reforms allowing life prison sentences for people as young as 12

El presidente de El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, habla durante una conferencia de prensa con el presidente electo de Chile en el palacio presidencial en San Salvador, El Salvador, el viernes 30 de enero de 2026. Salvador Melendez/AP

Salvador Melendez/AP

SAN SALVADOR — Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Wednesday signed into law constitutional reforms to permit life prison sentences for people as young as 12, a contentious reform that follows other heavy-handed measures pushed through by the populist leader.

World, reordering

The triumph of the Bukele Doctrine

The change was passed last month by the Legislative Assembly, which is controlled by Bukele's party, and would apply to people convicted of committing or acting as an accomplice to crimes including homicide, femicide, rape and gang membership. The measure was pushed forward by Bukele's cabinet.

Previously, the maximum sentence in El Salvador was 60 years for adults and less for youths. The reforms slated to take effect April 26 would create new criminal courts to try cases. They also stipulate a mandatory review of life terms decades into the sentences, depending on the age of the convict and the gravity of their crimes.

Critics say the reforms are just the latest harsh move by Bukele more than four years into his war on gangs.

Following a burst of gang violence in 2022, Bukele announced a then-temporary state of emergency, which has become the new normal in the Central American nation as it's been extended for years. He suspended constitutional rights and locked up more than 1% of El Salvador's population, often on vague charges with little evidence. Prisoners are often judged in mass trials and lawyers regularly lose track of where their clients are.