Ernesto Muyshondt at a September 2021 hearing.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Former San Salvador mayor Ernesto “Neto” Muyshondt was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday, February 28, for dereliction of duty tied to his 2018–2021 term at the head of the capital city.
The Fifth Sentencing Court of San Salvador found that Muyshondt, from the right-wing ARENA party, failed to meet basic obligations of his office during his tenure as mayor of the capital.
In announcing the penalty, the court concluded he neglected required payments and administrative duties tied to municipal operations during those years.
He was acquitted on counts related to the alleged misappropriation of labor and tax withholdings.
Media accounts citing the judiciary stated that the misconduct included allowing obligatory remittances to fall into arrears while prioritizing political exposure, conduct that the court considered a breach of his official responsibilities.
Defense attorney Óscar Argueta stated that the four-year term is the minimum sentence allowed for that type of offense and noted that Muyshondt had already served two years in custody.
SEE ALSO: Ex-Mayor Ernesto Muyshondt faces charges of electoral fraud and illicit associations
The former mayor of San Salvador has been in pre-trial detention for over four years; however, part of this time in detention is related to a separate criminal matter, meaning Friday’s sentence does not result in his release.
The conviction does not end the former mayor’s legal problems. Muyshondt still faces a separate case over alleged illegal negotiations with gangs and electoral fraud connected to the 2014 election cycle—charges that prosecutors say involved benefits offered to gang leaders in exchange for political support.
Muyshondt served in the Legislative Assembly before winning the mayoral office of San Salvador in 2018. He lost his reelection bid in 2021 and was arrested months later as multiple investigations progressed.
The sentencing underscores the Salvadoran judiciary’s willingness to pursue municipal-level misconduct even as the country remains focused on sweeping anti-gang crackdowns under President Nayib Bukele.
For Muyshondt—once a prominent conservative voice and an early Bukele ally before relations soured—the four-year sentence is a milestone, not an endpoint, in a legal saga likely to stretch on as his second case proceeds.
