El Salvador defends mega-prison that is key to Trump deportations

SAN SALVADOR – El Salvador’s leader Nayib Bukele on Dec 23 defended a huge prison that has become key to deportations from the United States under President Donald Trump, after drawing criticism for alleged rights abuses.

The Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) is a maximum security facility lauded by Mr Bukele as part of his attempts to rid the Central American country of prolific narco-gangs.

US broadcaster CBS News had been due to air an investigation about alleged abuses at CECOT on its flagship 60 Minutes programme, but it was pulled at the last minute
, leading to accusations of political meddling.

Mr Bukele fired back on Dec 23 against allegations about the prison’s conditions, saying “if you are convinced that torture is taking place at CECOT, El Salvador is ready to cooperate fully” by releasing the entire prison population to any country willing to take them.

“The only condition is straightforward: It must be everyone,” Mr Bukele said in the social media post, specifying this would include “all gang leaders and all those described as political prisoners”.

Mr Bukele’s post follows former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton labeling the prison “brutal” on social media on Dec 22.

“Curious to learn more about CECOT? Hear Juan, Andry and Wilmer share first-hand how the Trump administration branded them as gang members without evidence and deported them to the brutal El Salvadoran prison,” Ms Clinton said in the post in which she also shared an 11-minute video of the PBS Frontline documentary titled Surviving CECOT.

CECOT has also been at the centre of a major US legal case since March, when the Trump administration sent hundreds of Venezuelan and other migrants there despite a judge’s order that they be returned to the US.

Several deportees who have since been released have made claims of repeated abuse at the facility, with human rights groups echoing these allegations.

According to rights group Socorro Juridico Humanitario, 454 Salvadorans have died in prisons since Mr Bukele’s crackdown began.

Since March 2022, Mr Bukele has been cracking down on gangs under a state of emergency that allows for arrests without warrants.

More than 90,000 people have been detained, and some 8,000 have been released after being found not guilty, according to official sources.

On Dec 21, El Salvador announced prison sentences for hundreds of convicted gang members, with some of them receiving centuries-long terms.

The Salvadoran government says gang violence is responsible for 200,000 deaths over the past three decades. AFP