Nayib Bukele, the president ofEl Salvador, has released new footage from the Center of Confinement of Terrorism, the controversialmega-prisonbuilt in 2022 as part of a crackdown on street gangs and criminal organizations.
Thevideowas published to announce the transfer of 2,000 gang members from the Izalco, Ciudad Barrios, and San Vicente detention centers to the maximum securityprisonknown as CECOT.
HighlightsEl Salvador President Nayib Bukele released footage of 2,000 gang members being transferred to CECOT, the largest prison in Latin America.The murder rate dropped significantly since the prison’s opening, with 2023 recording the lowest number of homicides in Salvadoran history, according to official data.Human Rights Watch has denounced “enforced disappearances, torture, and other ill-treatment of detainees.”
“There, they will pay for the crimes committed against our people, isolated from the outside world, without any possibilities of leaving or organizing crimes from prison,” Bukele wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Tuesday (June 11).
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, has released new footage from the controversial mega-prison built in 2022 as part of a crackdown on street gangs
Image credits:Gettyimages
Upon entering theprison, the semi-naked detainees squatted in a long line, their heads tilted forward until they nearly touched the backs of the inmates in front of them.
The mega-jail has a capacity for 40,000 prisoners, making it the largest prison inLatin America. It’s located in Tecoluca, San Vicente, 74 km (45 miles) southeast of San Salvador, and it occupies 166 hectares, as per the local newspaperTicoTimes.
The video was posted to announce the transfer of 2,000 gang members to the CECOT, which can hold up to 40,000 inmates
Image credits:NBC News
The decision to build the CECOT came after 92 Salvadorans were killed between March 24 and 27, 2022, as a result of gang violence, the deadliest peak in lethal violence in the country’s recent history.
The Legislative Assembly adopted a state of exception, which allows the state to transcend the rule of law and suspend constitutional rights in the name of the public good.
Police officers and soldiers thenarrestedover 58,000 people—including at least 1,600 minors—in eight months.
There are currently 14,532 prisoners in CECOT. At the national level, theimprisoned populationreaches 108,200, which translates to 1,707 prisoners for every 100,000Salvadorans.
“They will pay for the crimes committed against our people, isolated from the outside world, without any possibilities of leaving or organizing crimes from prison,” the president wrote
While Bukele’s policies have significantly lowered the country’s murder rate, human rights organizations have denounced “torture and other ill-treatment of detainees”
In 2022, 495 homicides were recorded, or 7.8 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Detainees don’t have mattresses, as guards fear they would give them a chance to hide dangerous objects
In areportpublished in 2022,Human Rights Watchdenounced that, since the state of exception was established, there have been “arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and other ill-treatment of detainees, and significant due process violations.”
“In addition, the circumstances of many deaths in custody during the state of emergency suggest state responsibility for those deaths,” the 94-page report reads.
Similarly, Amnesty Internationalwarns El Salvador is experiencing the “gradual replacement of gang violence with state violence.”
In areportpublished in December, the organization accuses the government of adopting “a policy of systematic torture of all persons detained under the state of emergency because they are suspected of being gang members.” It also asserts that the “prevailing impunity” among Salvadoran authorities is facilitating “repeated violations.”
Bukele achieved a landslide victory in February when he was reelected with 83% of the votes
Esta madrugada, trasladamos a más de 2,000 pandilleros desde los penales de Izalco, Ciudad Barrios y San Vicente, hacia el CECOT.
Ahí pagarán por los crímenes cometidos contra nuestro pueblo; incomunicados con el exterior, sin posibilidad de salir, ni de ordenar crímenes desde…pic.twitter.com/n4syM6l9Y3
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele)June 11, 2024
Taking to his X account, Bukelewrotea “message to gangs” in the year the mega-prison was built:
“We have 16,000 ‘homeboys’ in our possession. Apart from the 1,000 arrested these days. We confiscated everything from them, even their sleeping mats. We rationed their food, and now they no longer see the sun. STOP KILLING NOW, or they are going to pay, too.”
In February 2024, the president, who has described himself as “the world’s coolest dictator” and a “Philosopher King,”was reelectedfor a second term with 83% of the votes. His victory in the elections was largely attributed to his fight against crime in the country.Lei RV
Renan Duarte
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