El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele unveiled plans to double the capacity of the country’s Terrorism Confinement Centre (Cecot), already the world’s largest prison, to detain more deportees sent from the United States.
Currently housing 15,000 inmates, the Cecot facility, opened in 2023 with an initial capacity for 40,000, will now be expanded to hold up to 80,000 detainees. The plans were reportedly discussed during a recent visit by US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The expansion aligns with Washington’s deportation policies, which have seen over 250 alleged gang members, many of Venezuelan origin, sent to El Salvador since 2024. The US is funding the initiative with a $6 million (£4.8 million) payment to Bukele’s government for incarceration costs.
However, the partnership faces scrutiny following high-profile errors. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen travelled to San Salvador this week to secure the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a US resident wrongly deported to Cecot in 2024. Garcia’s case highlights concerns over due process flaws in both nations’ immigration systems.
Meanwhile, Bukele, who justified his security policies by citing a dramatic reduction in gang violence, faced international condemnation for human rights abuses. The Cecot expansion underscores his reliance on US support to sustain what he calls a “war on gangs”, a campaign activists claim has led to arbitrary arrests and prison overcrowding.
