In El Salvador, located in Central America, the first 2,000 detainees were transferred to a new prison on Friday. The complex can accommodate 40,000 prisoners. Salvadoran President Bukele speaks of the largest prison in both North and South America.
Images that Bukele shares on Twitter show hundreds of barefoot men being taken by bus to the new cell complex at Tecoluca. “We are eliminating cancer from society,” writes Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro in the video montage.
The cell complex consists of eight concrete buildings, each with 32 cells. They have an area of 100 square meters. According to the authorities, there is room for more than 100 prisoners per cell. There are two sinks and two toilets in each cell. There are eighty sleeping places in the form of bunk beds per cell.
Bukele declared a state of emergency nearly a year ago in an effort to curb gang violence. Since then, more than 64,000 gang members have been arrested. An arrest warrant is no longer required. In addition, detainees do not automatically have the right to a lawyer.
Bukele’s drastic approach has been condemned by human rights organizations and the United Nations. Salvadoran media regularly report arbitrary detentions. In his own country, Bukele is still as popular as ever among the 6.8 million inhabitants.
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