More than 12,000 alleged gang members are locked up in a mega-prison called the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism in Tecoluca, El Salvador, which has a capacity for 40,000 detainees and is considered the largest in the Americas.
The penitentiary, which has been in operation for six months, was built on the orders of President Nayib Bukele, and is a symbol of his war against gangs.
The mega-prison – in Tecoluca, 74 kilometers (46 miles) southeast of the capital San Salvador – comprises eight buildings. Each has 32 cells of about 100 square meters (1,075 square feet) to hold “more than 100” prisoners, the government says.
The cells only have two sinks and two toilets each.
President Bukele declared a “war on gangs” last March, passing emergency measures which have been extended several times.
The emergency powers have been controversial as they limit some constitutional rights, such as allowing the security forces to arrest suspects without a warrant.
More than 64,000 suspects have been arrested in the anti-crime drive.
Authorities have said criminal gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio-18 number tens of thousands and are responsible for homicides, extortion and drug-trafficking. The aim of the mass arrests is to make the gangs “disappear altogether”, the government says.
Human rights organisations have argued that innocent people have been caught up in the policy, and some of those held have reported being subjected to “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment”.
But Bukele’s anti-gang push remains popular with Salvadorans.
