El Salvador Offers to Lock Up US Criminals in its Mega-Jail

El Salvador Offers to Lock Up US Criminals in its Mega-Jail
El Salvador has proposed to accept criminals deported from the US, including US citizens, and accommodate them in its mega-jail.
Following a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele during Rubio’s trip to the Central American country, the agreement was made public.
Bukele, whose authoritarian methods regarding gangs have garnered him voter praise but have drawn significant criticism from human rights organizations, stated that he had provided the US with “the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system.”
Rubio expressed that the US was “profoundly grateful” to Bukele and noted, “no country’s ever made an offer of friendship such as this.”
Rubio informed the press: “He has made offers to house dangerous American criminals, who are in custody in our country, in his jails, including those with US citizenship and legal residency.”
Rubio stated that El Salvador would accept deported migrants as well as “criminals from any nationality, be the MS-13 or Tren de Aragua”, referring to two of the region’s most infamous transnational crime gangs.
Bukele subsequently verified the proposal on X, clarifying that “we are prepared to accept only convicted criminals (including convicted US citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) for a fee”.
He stated that “the fee would be relatively low for the US but significant for us, making our entire prison sustainable.”
Bukele has prioritized crime reduction since taking office in 2019.
The maximum-security prison he mentioned, Cecot [Terrorism Confinement Centre], is the focal point of his campaign to imprison and penalize the most violent gang members.
The government marked the inauguration of the prison – which it claims can accommodate 40,000 inmates – by publishing images and footage of tattooed prisoners with shaved heads being frogmarched along its corridors while bare from the waist up.
However, the majority of Salvadoreans continue to support Bukele’s crime crackdown, stating that for the first time in years they can live their lives without threats from gang members.
However, some relatives of the tens of thousands detained under emergency measures implemented by Bukele claim their loved ones have been unjustly caught in broad police sweeps.
Amnesty International has condemned the “gradual replacement of gang violence with state violence” in the country, a criticism that Bukele has dismissed, noting that his tough stance on crime won him re-election to a second term last February with over 84% of the votes.
El Salvador has proposed to accept criminals deported from the US, including US citizens, and accommodate them in its mega-jail.
Following a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele during Rubio’s trip to the Central American country, the agreement was made public.
Bukele, whose authoritarian methods regarding gangs have garnered him voter praise but have drawn significant criticism from human rights organizations, stated that he had provided the US with “the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system.”
Rubio expressed that the US was “profoundly grateful” to Bukele and noted, “no country’s ever made an offer of friendship such as this.”