El Salvador has begun filling its mega-prison with a rendition of 2,000 gang members and criminals, including members of MS-13 and Barrio-18.
“Dawn today, in a single operation, we transferred the first 2,000 gang members to the Center for Countering Terrorism (CECOT),” El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele wrote on Twitter. “This will be their new home, where they can no longer harm the population.”
Bukele also posted a video on Twitter showing prisoners running into the new facility with their ankles shackled and their hands behind their backs. The prisoners wore white shorts and had shaved heads, with many men sporting gang tattoos.
The prisoners are seen huddled on the floor of the facility, hands behind their heads as they stare at their feet.
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The new 40,000-person facility opened last month under an accelerated construction plan, doubling El Salvador’s prison capacity in less than a year. The prison is one of the largest in Latin America, with 37 guard towers and eight cell blocks from which it will be “impossible to escape”.
Bukele declared a “state of emergency” in March 2022 when he authorized his government to crack down on gang members by relaxing the country’s arrest laws, e.g. B. no longer required an arrest warrant and gave the government access to citizens’ communications.
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A general view shows a convoy taking 2,000 gang members into the Terrorism Confinement Center, according to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout distributed to Portal on February 24, 2023. (Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via Portal.)
He enforced the new measure after three days of violence left 87 people dead. Bukele blamed MS-13 for the violence, and authorities claimed they arrested the MS-13 leaders who ordered the killings during the nationwide crackdown.
Prison agents watch gang members disembark from a bus upon arrival after 2,000 gang members were transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center, according to El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout distributed to Portal on February 24 . 2023. (Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via Portal.)
US prosecutors have linked MS-13 to dozens of murders in the New York metro area and Long Island over the past decade, with terrorism charges announced for 2021 against 14 of the gangs’ leaders, the New York Times reported.
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Gang members wait to be taken to their cells after being transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center, according to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout distributed to Portal on February 24, 2023 became. (Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidency/Handout via Portal )
El Salvador’s Congress repeatedly extended the state of emergency, leading to more than 46,000 arrests of suspected gang members. That number rose to over 62,000 by the end of the year, including suspected collaborators.
A gang member is treated upon arrival after 2,000 gang members were taken to the Terrorism Confinement Center, according to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout distributed to Portal on February 24, 2023. (Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via Portal.)
A Cid Gallup poll last year found that 91% of respondents supported the more aggressive crackdown, Bloomberg reported.
Prison agents watch inmates being treated upon arrival after 2,000 gang members were transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center, according to El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout distributed to Portal on February 24, 2023. (Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via Portal.)
However, human rights organizations argue that innocent people have been implicated in the politics, including at least dozens who have died in police custody.
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A woman told The Guardian that her husband, brother and nephew were arrested a week ago unloading a lorry for their business and police have not yet explained why they were taken into custody.
Portal contributed to this report.