A mega-prison in El Salvador has opened its doors to its first 2,000 inmates of suspected gang members – who arrived to find there weren’t enough beds for everyone and no mattresses at all.
The facility is said to house 40,000 suspected gangsters and the Central American country’s security minister warned inmates they would “never leave here”.
The move to the high-tech prison follows President Nayib Bukele’s “war” on crime.
Bukele tweeted that “at dawn, in a single operation, we moved the first 2,000 members to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT)” — which he says is America’s largest mega-prison.
Bukele added: “This will be their new home where they will live for decades, all mixed up, unable to cause any further harm to the populace.”
Police officers in riot gear guard the arrival of inmates from gangs MS-13 and 18 at the new Terrorist Confinement Center prison
The prisoners were forced to walk while leaning forward with their hands tied behind their backs as they entered the prison
The inmates are members of more than a dozen gangs and were handcuffed and stripped down to their boxer shorts
They were loaded onto buses, handcuffed and tied, to be taken to the new prison in a convoy that included helicopters.
The President released a video showing barefoot, tattooed men wearing only white boxer shorts, bent over and hands behind shaved heads.
They were stacked close together, each seated with his legs on either side of the man in front of them while armed guards in balaclavas looked on.
At the new facility, the men were similarly piled up before being led in large groups to their cells, where they were made to sit on the floor in front of stacked metal beds with no mattresses visible.
“We are eliminating this cancer from society,” Justice and Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro said on Twitter.
“Know you will never leave CECOT, you will pay for what you are… cowardly terrorists,” he added.
The prison in Tecoluca, 74 kilometers southeast of the capital San Salvador, was built on Bukele’s orders after he declared “war” on the gangs last March. It consists of eight buildings made of reinforced concrete.
Each has 32 cells of about 100 square meters, designed to accommodate “more than 100” inmates, according to Romeo Rodriguez, Minister for Public Works.
Each cell has only two sinks and two toilets.
The men had all their hair shaved off, revealing a variety of tattoos on their heads
The Terrorism Confinement Center, guarded by over 800 soldiers and police officers, will more than double El Salvador’s detention capacity and help alleviate some of the overpopulation in the country’s prison system
The first 2,000 inmates in El Salvador were moved to a new prison called the Terrorist Confinement Center.
A prison guard stands next to a group of six prisoners who are handcuffed, lined up close together and facing the wall
The first 2,000 gang members have been transferred from Izalco prison to “America’s largest” mega-prison, equipped with high-tech surveillance
The majority of prisoners are heavily tattooed, with many having designs covered all over their bodies
The correctional facility is equipped with dining halls, movement rooms and table tennis tables, which are reserved exclusively for the wardens
Gang members wait to be taken to their cells after 2000 gang members were taken to the Terrorism Confinement Center
There are only 80 metal bunks for every 100 prisoners, and human rights groups and observers have criticized the construction as violating incarceration standards.
“There will be no mattresses in the cells,” the jailer – who wore a ski mask to protect his identity – told journalists when the project was unveiled.
The prison is equipped with dining halls, exercise rooms and table tennis tables, but these are only available to the wardens.
Prisoners only leave the cell for court hearings via video conference or to be punished in a windowless and unlit isolation cell.
Some 63,000 suspected gang members have been arrested since Bukele declared a state of emergency months ago, allowing arrests without warrants in the violence-torn country.
There are only 80 metal bunks for every 100 prisoners, and human rights groups and observers have criticized the construction as violating incarceration standards
An officer monitors video monitors at the Terrorism Confinement Center on Thursday
The arrival of inmates from the MS-13 and 18 gangs at the new Terrorist Confinement Center prison
“There will be no mattresses in the cells,” the jailer – who wore a ski mask to protect his identity – told journalists when the project was unveiled
Police officers register the arrival of detainees from gangs MS-13 and 18
Some 63,000 suspected gang members have been arrested since Bukele declared a state of emergency months ago