El Salvador's Mega Prison: The Hell on Earth
17
World
January 28, 2025 10:00
el salvador - El Salvador's mega prison, known as the Hell on Earth, prepares to celebrate its second year anniversary on February 1st.
El Salvador's Mega Prison: The Hell on Earth
El Salvador's mega prison, also known as the Hell on Earth, is getting ready to mark its second year since opening. The prison, which is considered the largest in Latin America and a symbol of President Nayib Bukele's government's fight against gangs, is located in the Tecoluca region of El Salvador. Housing hundreds of MS-13 and 18th Street gang members, the prison has become infamous for its size and the notorious criminals it holds.
Life Inside the Mega Prison
The prison, with a capacity for around 18,000 gang members, has helped clean up the streets of El Salvador by incarcerating a significant number of gang members. Marvin Vasquez, a member of the infamous MS-13 gang, who is believed to have killed around 20 to 30 people before being sent to the prison, described the conditions inside. Despite acknowledging that the prison is not a luxury hotel, Vasquez mentioned that for the inmates, it is not much different from a 5-star hotel. He talked about being provided with three meals a day, having the opportunity for exercise, and being able to watch religious programs.
Possible Lifetime Incarceration
According to the prison's director, Belarmino Garcia, armed guards closely monitor the inmates. The meals consist mainly of beans, cheese or a mix of rice and beans, sometimes with bananas, and a cup of coffee or atole (a corn-based drink) for breakfast. García defended the prison's compliance with legal processes and 'strict respect for human rights,' stating that if the inmates were released under these conditions, they would be unreformable burdens on the state, leaving physically and mentally ill and full of anger.
El Salvador's Minister of Public Security, Gustavo Villatoro, expressed the belief in rehabilitation but only for minor criminals, hinting at the high possibility of lifelong incarceration for the most dangerous offenders.