CAMRI | El Salvador’s Controversial Offer: Housing U.S. Criminals in Its Mega-Prison

El Salvador’s Controversial Offer: Housing U.S. Criminals in Its Mega-Prison

A News Item by Doug Specht, published by The SAIS Review

El Salvador’s ‘maverick’^[1] president, Nayib Bukele, has proposed a unique agreement with the United States, offering to house American criminals and deportees ^[2] in its notorious mega-prison, Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Terrorism Confinement Center, abbreviated CECOT). This unprecedented deal, put forward by Bukele, aims to accommodate U.S. deportees regardless of their nationality, including violent American offenders and gang members. However, this agreement raises significant legal, ethical, and humanitarian concerns, with critics arguing that the condition of El Salvador’s prisons and U.S. law make this project a non-starter.

The Deal

At the core of this agreement is El Salvador’s willingness to accept deportees from the United States, regardless of their nationality. This provision extends beyond typical deportation arrangements, as it includes the accommodation of violent American offenders, including U.S. citizens and legal residents currently in U.S. custody. Furthermore, the agreement specifically targets gang members, with El Salvador agreeing to accept for deportation any illegal immigrant in the United States who is a criminal of any nationality, explicitly mentioning members of notorious gangs such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.

This proposal comes at a time when El Salvador already maintains the world’s highest incarceration rate, with over 110,000 people imprisoned as of early 2024, following a high-profile and ethically dubious crackdown on gangs. These incarceration rates and the question of human rights abuses have brought condemnation from the international community, and many will be concerned at the prospect of more prisoners being imported to already crowded prisons. For President Bukele, though, this not only helps his well-managed strongman image but also has significant financial incentives. El Salvador will charge the United States a fee for housing these prisoners, which Bukele has described as “relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable”. This financial arrangement introduces a new dynamic to international criminal justice cooperation, potentially setting a precedent for similar agreements in the future.

…

Read full article in The SAIS Review of International Affairs.

Photo by RDNE Stock project.

About Doug Specht

Dr Doug Specht is a cultural geographer and educationalist. His research explores themes related to environmental justice, human rights, and access to education, with a focus on the production and codification of knowledge though cartographic artefacts and in educational settings. In recognition of his work, he has been appointed as a Chartered Geographer and Chartered Teacher. In addition, he has been awarded Advanced Teacher Status, alongside being a Senior Fellow of AdvanceHE. Dr. Specht has authored numerous articles and books, including Mapping Crisis, the Routledge Handbook of Geospatial Technology and Society, the Media and Communications Student Study Guide and Imagining Apocalyptic Politics in the Anthropocene. He writes regularly on ethics, environmental and human rights, education, and mapping practices in such publications as WonkHE, The Conversation, Geographical, and for Times Higher Education. Dr Specht is a member of the editorial board of the European Journal of Geography, Westminster papers in Communication and Culture, and Anthropocenes – Human, Inhuman, Posthuman. He is Chair of the Environmental Network for Central America.