Ex-Attorney General Luis Martínez
SANTA TECLA, El Salvador — Former Attorney General Luis Martínez, once the highest-ranking prosecutor in El Salvador, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison after a court found him guilty of procedural fraud and failure to investigate corruption cases under his watch.
The Third Sentencing Court of San Salvador ruled that Martínez abused his authority as attorney general between 2012 and 2015 by manipulating judicial proceedings to benefit private interests.
Judges concluded he directly participated in altering evidence and expert reports, enabling corruption networks to operate within the prosecutor’s office.
Two other former prosecutors were also convicted in the case. Julio Arriaza González received a five-year prison term, while Héctor Francisco Grimaldi was sentenced to six years.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Martínez led a corruption scheme that manipulated high-profile cases, including one involving business figures Enrique Rais and Hugo Blanco Rais.
Testimony revealed he maintained direct contact with the Rais family during judicial proceedings and relayed confidential case information to defendants.
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The court found that Martínez knowingly allowed irregularities committed by Arriaza and Grimaldi, choosing not to intervene despite being aware of tampered evidence and reports.
His inaction, the judges said, made him complicit in procedural fraud.
Martínez was also convicted of failing to investigate wrongdoing by judges and lawyers tied to corruption cases.
Instead of exercising his authority, he neglected to act, allowing misconduct to persist unchecked.
The former attorney general, who served from December 2012 to December 2015, has faced multiple legal battles in recent years.
In 2024, he was ordered to repay $71,000 for illicit enrichment. Before this latest conviction, he served five years in prison for disclosing classified information.
The ruling marks another chapter in El Salvador’s ongoing efforts to prosecute entrenched corruption within its justice system.
