After El Salvador sped up the building process, they opened their new mega-prison last month.
The prison, called the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism, can house 40,000 prisoners. It consists of eight cell blocks that the country says are escape-proof. Large guard towers ensure that inmates arent going anywhere. Electric fences and a massive concrete wall surround the facility. Each cell can house 80 inmates, and they dont get a mattress.
The largest prison right now is in Turkey and holds approximately 22,000 inmates. If the new prison reaches capacity, it will become the largest prison in the world. Now that its open, El Salvador has already begun to fill the new mega-prison.
Fox News reports, Today at dawn, in a single operation, we transferred the first 2,000 gang members to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT), El Salvadors President Nayib Bukele wrote on Twitter. This will be their new home, where they wont be able to do any more harm to the population.
Then, the President posted a video on his Twitter account showing the 2,000 gang members, many with shaved heads and gang tattoos, jogging into the prison while shackled at their ankles with their hands behind their backs. Other footage shows the prisoners sitting on the floor of the facility.
Bukele has taken a unique approach to dealing with gang members to reduce gang violence, which many appreciate. In March 2022, President Bukele loosened the laws in his country, giving police officers the option to arrest people even if they did not have a warrant. New laws also make it possible for the government to see communications between citizens, making it easier to determine who is a gang member.
A state of emergency allowed President Bukele to do this, but some are against it. The Human Rights Watch thinks the state of emergency should be removed and replaced with a new security policy to keep citizens safe.
According to The Insider, In 2020, the mistreatment of suspected gang members in El Salvador made headlines when photos were released of barely clothed prisoners stacked together as punishment for a spate of violence.
The two gangs, MS-13 and the 18th Street gang, are notorious for their cold-blood violence and ruthless attitudes. However, many are happy. People are relieved that theyll be off the streets for decades and that citizens will feel safe again.
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