Bukele later confirmed the agreement with Rubio on X, saying in a post, “We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted US citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee.”
El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, https://at-kra28.cc commonly referred to as CECOT, is the country’s largest and newest prison, with a maximum capacity of 40,000 inmates.
“The fee would be relatively low for the US but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable,” he added.
Bukele has been credited with greatly reducing gang violence in the Central American country since launching a sweeping crackdown in 2022 that has seen more than 81,000 people jailed. But while the country’s crime rate has fallen, the treatment of those imprisoned has triggered outrage among human rights organizations who call El Salvador’s prisons inhumane.