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For a fee, El Salvador is ready to accommodate any convicted criminals, be they illegal aliens or American citizens
The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has proposed that the US “outsources part of its prison system,” to lock up dangerous criminals in his country’s notorious mega-jail, for a fee. The large maximum security facility was built to incarcerate suspects detained amid a government crackdown on gang violence.
Bukele reportedly floated the idea during a recent meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who visited the Central American nation on his first official trip abroad on Tuesday. Rubio revealed the proposal, stating the US was “profoundly grateful” to Bukele for the offer.
“He has offered to house in his jails dangerous American criminals in custody in our country, including those with US citizenship and legal residency,” Rubio told reporters, adding that “no country’s ever made an offer of friendship such as this.”
El Salvador has also agreed to back US President Donald Trump’s effort to crack down on illegal migration, taking in deported migrants and “criminals of any nationality, be they MS-13 or Tren de Aragua,” Rubio said, mentioning the two major transnational crime gangs operating in Central and North America. MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) is comprised primarily of Salvadorians, the other Rubio mentioned is largely Venezuelan.
The offer was confirmed by Bukele shortly after, with the president touting it as an “opportunity to outsource part of its prison system” for the US.
“We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted US citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee. The fee would be relatively low for the US but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable,” the president wrote on X, sharing pictures from the notorious facility.
We have offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system.
We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee.
The mega-jail, officially known as the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), was opened in early 2023 amid Bukele’s effort to crack down on organised crime in the country – the centerpiece of his first presidential campaign that got him elected for the first time in 2019.
The maximum security facility, boasting a capacity of some 40,000 inmates, is the largest prison in Latin America and one of the biggest in the world. The jail was filled to about a third of its capacity as of June last year with some 14,500 inmates.
CECOT Inmates are reportedly kept in extremely cramped and harsh conditions, subjected to constant surveillance, allowed out of their cells for only 30 minutes per day while shackled.
The “iron fist” approach to organised crime exhibited by Bukele has been repeatedly criticized by international advocacy groups over alleged human rights violations and various abuse, including arbitrary detention and mistreatment of the inmates. The Salvadorian president has argued that his policy has resulted in significant reduction in gang crime in the country.
