El Salvador Allows Life Sentences for Children as Young as 12, Effective April 26

El Salvador has published reforms allowing life prison sentences for children as young as 12 years old, the most severe juvenile sentencing laws of any country in the Western Hemisphere. The changes take effect on April 26.

President Nayib Bukele signed the package of reforms, which amend four separate laws: the Juvenile Penal Law, the Penal Code, the Special Law Against Terrorism, and the Organized Crime Law. The Salvadoran Legislative Assembly approved the measures with 57 of 60 votes -- all from Bukele's Nuevas Ideas party and its allies.

What changed

Previously, El Salvador's maximum sentence for minors aged 12-15 was 10 years for homicide or sexual crimes. Those aged 16-17 faced a maximum of 15 years. Life sentences applied only to adults, with a 60-year cap.

Under the new law, minors aged 12-17 convicted of homicide, feminicide, rape, or gang membership face mandatory life sentences -- the same crimes that carry life terms for adults. The reform eliminates judicial discretion: when a crime carries a life sentence in the Penal Code, it automatically applies to minors as well.

The law includes a mandatory review mechanism after 25 years of incarceration, at which point judges can evaluate whether to grant a controlled release. This differentiates the measure from absolute life sentences imposed on adults.

Part of a broader crackdown

The reforms extend Bukele's anti-gang campaign that began in March 2022, when he declared a state of exception following a spike in gang homicides. Under that emergency regime -- which remains in effect -- El Salvador has imprisoned more than 1% of its population, often on vague charges with limited due process.

The constitutional foundation for these sentencing changes was laid through an amendment to Article 27 of the Constitution, ratified by the Assembly in March 2026. The secondary legislation published this week operationalizes that amendment.

International condemnation

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF issued a joint statement expressing "deep concern" that children could be sentenced to life imprisonment, warning that the measure contradicts the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

A separate joint statement from OHCHR, UNICEF, UNFPA, and the Committee on the Rights of the Child called on El Salvador to reconsider the reforms, stating that the Convention requires children in conflict with the law to be treated in a way that prioritizes rehabilitation and reintegration, and that detention be used "only as a last resort and for the shortest possible time."

The organizations noted that detention is "not only harmful to children, but also highly costly and ineffective in preventing crime, generating severe negative impacts on the physical and mental health of children and adolescents."