Police officers in riot gear guarding the arrival of inmates belonging to the MS-13 and 18 gangs (Picture: Salvadorean Presidency/AFP via Getty)
Thousands of gang members have been transferred to a new ‘mega jail’ in El Salvador as part of an ongoing crackdown on crime which has sent the prison population skyrocketing.
President Nayib Bukele wrote on Twitter: ‘This will be their new home, where they won’t be able to do any more harm to the population.’
Around 2,000 gang members were moved to the 40,000-capacity facility, now considered to be the largest in the Americas.
In a video posted by Bukele, prisoners stripped down to white shorts, with their heads shaved, are seen running through the new prison into cells.
Inmates arrive to the new prison ‘Terrorist Confinement Centre’ (CECOT) (Picture: Salvadorean Presidency/AFP via Getty)
The first 2,000 gang members were transferred from the Izalco prison (Picture: Salvadorean Presidency/AFP via Getty Images)
It is considered ‘America’s largest’ mega-prison (Picture: Salvadorean Presidency/AFP via Getty)
It is equipped with high-tech surveillance (Picture: Salvadorean Presidency/AFP via Getty)
The jail is designed to house 40,000 criminals (Picture: Salvadorean Presidency/AFP via Getty Images)
President Nayib Bukele is waging a ‘war’ on criminals (Picture: Salvadorean Presidency/AFP via Getty Images)
Many bear gang tattoos.
Bukele asked his allies in Congress to pass a state of exception last year, which has since been extended several times.
It suspends some constitutional rights after a dramatic spike in murders attributed to violent gangs.
Since then, more than 64,000 suspects have been arrested in the anti-crime dragnet.
The inmates had their heads shaved and were stripped down to white shorts (Picture: Salvadorean Presidency/AFP via Getty Images)
Many bore gang tattoos (Picture: Salvadorean Presidency/AFP via Getty Images)
They were moved from the Izalco prison (Picture: Salvadorean Presidency/AFP via Getty Images)
Arrests can be made without a warrant, private communications are accessible by the government, and detainees no longer have the right to a lawyer.
Human rights organisations argue that innocent people have been caught up in the policy, including dozens who have died in police custody.
But Bukele’s anti-gang push remains widely popular with Salvadorans, and the country’s security minister told Reuters it would continue until all criminals are captured.
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Around 2,000 were moved to the 40,000-capacity facility, now considered to be the largest in the Americas.
