What does the new mega-prison in El Salvador bring with it?

El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele recently inaugurated a huge prison complex, called the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), which has the capacity to house 40,000 prisoners and 600 security guards.

Construction of the complex began in the second quarter of 2022, when the country was already under a state of emergency due to fight gangs, known as "maras".

The CECOT has 236 blocks, 8 units and more than 5,400 square meters, with reinforced steel cells and 19 watchtowers. According to Salvadoran authorities, it is the largest prison in Latin America. We are talking about much needed infrastructure considering that El Salvador has the fourth highest prison population per 100,000 inhabitants in the world.

In addition, the penitentiary network in this country, as is often the case in Latin America, has enormous saturation problems. So far nothing new, except that these countries also need medium and long term plans for reducing their very high crime rates.?

Tweet translation:

This is a message to the terrorists who continue to flee from justice: these facilities are waiting for them to pay for all the damage caused to Salvadoran families.

Doubts about the continued state of emergency

According to Irene Cuellar, Amnesty International's (AI) researcher for Central America, since the state of emergency was declared in March 2022, there have been reports of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees and deaths in state custody in various prisons.

Moreover, despite the 60,000 arrests trumpeted by the government, no details have been provided about the criminal backgrounds of the detainees or of their procedural status. In this sense, it appears that this policy was one of apprehend first and ask questions later.

In this context of increasing arrests of gang members, the CECOT would be a response to the need to house criminals or alleged criminals, depending on how you look at it. In addition, on 10 January the state of emergency was renewed for the tenth time, which means that the prison population will surely continue to grow, at least during the 30 days of the extension.

Extra note: the facade of the "influencer" president

The president's messages to the gangs, promising a firm hand and a reduction in the homicide rate by 2022, have served to boost his already high levels of popularity.

The problem is that, aside from the doubts generated by the eternal state of emergency, Bukele can also be harshly criticized for his political actions.In December 2020, he ordered a momentary takeover of Congress by the army to approve a $109 million credit for his anti-gang plan. Then, in May 2021, his parliamentary bloc managed to dismiss part of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, a body that, once renewed, enabled Bukele to run for reelection in 2024, despite the fact that the Constitution excludes that possibility.

Allowing a ruler to bypass institutions, even if it is to combat a lack of security, puts the fundamental rights of citizens at risk and opens the possibility that other institutions may be violated. It is important to keep in mind that the fight against crime is necessary, but it cannot be done at the expense of human rights. Bukele's firm hand campaign may be working, but the repressive methods, the assault on institutions and his growing authoritarianism are not the formula for the political and economic success that Central America so badly needs.