Donald Trump has said things on occasion that have gotten him in hot water. He has certainly ruffled some feathers, as he said he wanted to put Americans in a mega-prison in El Salvador.
Pres. Donald Trump has spoken and outwardly said that criminals of any nationality could be sent to a violent ‘mega-prison’ in El Salvador. Things are so difficult at that prison that inmates are denied basic rights, such as going outside and visitation.
The Trump administration, along with the 81st president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele made the announcement on Monday, February 3. The announcement stated that they agreed that detained migrants, imprisoned citizens in the United States, and others who were undocumented could be sent to the country in Central America.
Trump meanwhile said that he was interested in sending convicts of any nationality to El Salvador. This statement took place during an executive order signing ceremony at the Oval Office.
Pres. Trump said: “If we had the legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat.
“I don’t know if we do or not. We’re looking at that right now, but we could make deals where we’d get these animals out of our country.”
The Salvatorian leader clarified things when he said that he would be ‘willing to take in only convicted criminals’. In addition, he would be doing so in exchange for a fee and housing them at the maximum security Terrorism Confinement Centre.
The 43-year-old leader went on to say: “The fee would be relatively low for the US but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable.”
According to Michael E Shifter, “It’s quite extraordinary and unprecedented and alarming in many ways.
“I know a lot of experts have raised questions about the constitutionality and legality of this deal, but Bukele is a leader who has absolute power in El Salvador and it seems Trump seems to be moving in a similar direction in trying to reduce or eliminate any checks on his power.”
The offer to outsource part of the prison system to El Salvador was offered when Bukele succeeded Salvador Sánchez Cerén in June 2019.
After initiating a crackdown on gang-related crimes in March 2022, over 84,000 people were arrested. Less than a year after the campaign, the $100 million prison was opened. It spans 410 acres and can hold as many as 40,000 inmates.
Inside the prison are eight large blocks divided into modules and inmates have to stay with up to 70 others in their cells for 23 1/2 hours every day. The cells include an open toilet, a cement basin, metal bunks, and not much room. Most of the incarcerated have to sit on each other.
Those who are held at the prison are not allowed outside. They have to exercise inside the prison hallways for 30 minutes a day.
According to the New York Post, the building has wide dining halls, a gym, break rooms, and board games but only the guards who work at the facility are able to use them. There are no educational programs or workshops and books or personal items are not allowed. There are two Bibles in each cell.
When you stay at the prison, you will never eat meat and you are under 24 hour surveillance. Typically, a meal would consist of rice and beans along with plantains. In addition, silverware is not allowed so you have to eat with your hands.
Those who commit an offense go to solitary confinement and reside in isolation cells that are absolutely dark except for a small ceiling hole that allows in a shaft of light. A former member of the United Nations subcommittee for the prevention of torture described the prison as a ‘concrete and steel pit’
He said that the prison was used ‘to dispose of people without formally applying the death penalty.’
