In El Salvador, a Central American state, about 2,000 inmates accused of being part of criminal gangs have been transferred to a huge new prison called Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), which opened earlier this year. The prison, inaugurated a month ago, was specifically designed to house prisoners arrested for their activities in criminal gangs active in the country.
El Salvador is considered one of the most violent countries in the world precisely because of gang activity, for which the government last year declared a disputed state of emergency. The transfer of the 2,000 people was carried out as part of a new major operation against gangs, in which the police arrested about 64,000 people.
El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele said the new prison, considered one of the largest in the continent, could hold tens of thousands of people. It is located about 70 kilometers southeast of the capital San Salvador, includes eight buildings, each with 32 cells that house over 100 people each, which is why several groups of activists have strongly criticized it, claiming that there are no guarantees inside for respect for the human rights of prisoners.
The Minister of Justice and Security Gustavo Villatoro said that the transfer of prisoners to the new prison serves to “eliminate this cancer from society” and made it clear that he does not intend to release those who are imprisoned there.
