The largest prison at the moment in El Salvador to hold gang members was inaugurated this Tuesday in an announcement headed by President Nayib Bukele.
The detainees will be transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), described by the authorities as the largest prison in Latin America, as part of the emergency regime in the country that has been in place since last March when Congress initially approved the declaration. .
“The high-ranking profiles of the gangs, the program runners, the triggermen, all those who belong to terrorist groups, are the ones who are going to be here,” explained the general director of Penitentiary Centers, Osiris Luna, as quoted by Associated Press.
Bukele made the announcement through the national radio and television network. The official was accompanied by members of the security cabinet, the general director of Penal Centers; and the Minister of Public Works, Romeo Rodríguez.
Members of the press did not have access to the complex.
Bukele had promised to open the prison, with a capacity for 40,000 inmates, a few days after the state of emergency began in response to the 62 homicides reported during the day of violence on March 26. That day is considered the most violent on record in the country so far in the 21st century.
The exception regime that has to be approved by the legislative body is requested in case of extraordinary situations such as wars, sedition, catastrophe, etc.
The prison, located in the municipality of Tecoluca in the central department of San Vicente, has hundreds of thousands of meters of construction, electrified fences and multiple concrete walls over 11 meters high, as well as 19 watchtowers.
The structure also has pavilions that will house 2,500 inmates each. According to Luna, modern surveillance technology will ensure that no one can leave the compound.
Inside the prison, a specialized riot police unit and joint forces of the Army and the Police will control the perimeter.
El Salvador has 29 prisons nationwide. The one in Zacatecoluca, known as Zacatraz, is the only one with maximum security. Human rights groups have not only questioned the overcrowding of gang members in prisons, but also the arbitrary arrests of alleged members of groups such as MS-13 and Barrio 18 without due process of law or minimal constitutional guarantees.
The state of exception limits several rights such as association, expression and transit. In addition, it suspends the right of a person to be duly informed of his rights and reasons for his arrest, as well as the assistance of a lawyer.
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