A specialized sentencing court on Monday sentenced 15 members of a group of hit men who operated in various municipalities in eastern El Salvador to sentences ranging from 36 to 147 years in prison, the Public Ministry reported.
All were sentenced for two aggravated homicides, one attempted aggravated homicide, two cases of proposition and conspiracy to commit the crime of aggravated homicide, two home invasions, two aggravated robberies and illegal groups.
The sentence of 147 years in prison that the court imposed on Carlos Santos Lobos stands out. For his part, José Santos Zelaya, the alleged financier and leader of the criminal structure; René Francisco Benítez Escobar, alias “Hijos de Chico Pringa”, second in command of the group of hit men, and José Reyes Alemán Zelaya, alias “Patrón”, were sentenced to 109 years in prison.
Ronal Eduardo García Márquez, alias “Caballo”, third in command of the extermination group, was sentenced to 145 years in prison for the same crimes.
The other members of the criminal structure received sentences ranging from 36 to 87 years in prison.
The Prosecutor’s Office indicated that these sentences resolve, among others, the murder of Andrea Lisseth Guzmán, who was killed with a firearm on April 23, 2018 in the El Platanar canton, Moncagua municipality.
Seven men dressed in police uniforms broke into the victim’s house, simulated a raid, tied the entire family’s hands and feet, and took the woman away to kill her with a shot to the head about three kilometers from her home.
Justice was also achieved for the family of Geldis Turcios Vásquez, who was murdered on May 20, 2018 in the same canton of El Platanar with a shot to the head.
According to the tax investigation, the criminal structure that operated in the municipalities of Ciudad Barrios, Chapeltique and Moncagua in the department of San Miguel, in the eastern part of the country, was made up of ex-police officers, ex-soldiers and ex-gang members, who were financed by a Salvadoran residing in the United States. Joined.
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