© 2023 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations

El Salvador's new mega-prison gets first inmates

A first group of 2,000 detainees are moved to the mega- prison Terrorist Confinement Centre (CECOT) on Feb. 24, 2023 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. Since president Nayib Bukele announced state of exception in March 2022, over 62,000 suspected gang members have been arrested. Human Rights organizations denounce abuses and due process violations. El Salvador has one of highest crime rates in Latin America. (Presidencia El Salvador via Getty Images )
A first group of 2,000 detainees are moved to the mega- prison Terrorist Confinement Centre (CECOT) on Feb. 24, 2023 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. Since president Nayib Bukele announced state of exception in March 2022, over 62,000 suspected gang members have been arrested. Human Rights organizations denounce abuses and due process violations. El Salvador has one of highest crime rates in Latin America. (Presidencia El Salvador via Getty Images )

In El Salvador, thousands of suspected gang members have arrived at a huge new “mega-prison” in the country. The new jail is a key part of President Nayib Bukele’s war on crime.

The prison will eventually hold 40,000 inmates, but this week only took in 2,000. NPR’s Eyder Peralta was in El Salvador recently. He joins host Peter O’Dowd with the latest.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
WUSF 89.7 depends on donors for the funding it takes to provide you the most trusted source of news and information here in town, across our state, and around the world. Support WUSF now by giving monthly, or make a one-time donation online.