The detention center, “the biggest prison in all of America,” according to Mr. Rodriguez, will be guarded around the clock by 600 soldiers and 250 police officers.
The President of El Salvador, Naguib Bukele, unveiled on Tuesday “the largest prison in the Americas”, intended to incarcerate up to 40,000 alleged “mareros”, gang members, as part of his “war” on organized crime announced in the spring of 2022.
The head of state did not specify the date when the first transfers of prisoners to it are planned. In the hands of the Salvadoran authorities are currently some 63,000 alleged members of the “maras”.
Terrorism Confinement Center https://t.co/TSCkfl41EY
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 1, 2023
According to Mr Bukele, gangsters jailed under previous governments had access to “prostitutes, PlayStations, television screens, mobile phones and computers”.
Future inmates at the detention center for “terrorist” suspects — President Bukele’s government last year labeled the maras “terrorist” organizations — will be required to “work,” countered Justice and Public Security Undersecretary Osiris Luna.
The giant prison, which is being built in an isolated rural area near Tecoluca, 74 kilometers southeast of the capital San Salvador, will cover 1,660 hectares, Public Works Minister Romeo Rodríguez said.
Miren como son las cells de los delincuentes en El Salvador, en otros países los hacen gestores de paz y les garantia curules en el congreso.
Nayib Bukele is an example for Latin America pic.twitter.com/HBD4BnfH6U
— Jaime Arizabaleta 🇨🇴 (@jarizabaletaf) February 1, 2023
The detention center, “the largest prison in all of America,” according to Mr. Rodriguez, will be guarded day and night by 600 soldiers and 250 police officers.
Mass arrests of alleged criminals by El Salvadoran authorities as part of the “war” against the Mara have been criticized by human rights groups.
The state of emergency that has been imposed allows authorities to arrest and detain suspects without warrants or court orders. It was approved by the Salvadoran Congress following a wave of 87 murders attributed to marreros from March 25 to 27.
Last Friday, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch highlighted the fact that the excess population of inmates in the country’s approximately twenty prisons is huge.
The new, giant prison will have a nominal capacity of 30,000, according to authorities.
President Bukele initially promised that the massive project would be completed by September. The government has not explained the reasons why its completion is delayed.
RES-EMP
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