El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is reportedly planning to double the capacity of the country's infamous Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), expanding it from 40,000 to 80,000 inmates.
During a visit to the White House, President Donald Trump told Bukele he needed to build "about five more places" like the maximum-security prison he opened in 2023. Bukele responded that El Salvador had enough space to make it happen.
What initially appeared to be light conversation, however, could be an actual plan. According to The Wall Street Journal, Bukele is seriously considering the expansion, having discussed the proposal with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during her visit to El Salvador last month, according to people familiar with the conversation.
CECOT, considered the largest prison in the world, currently holds roughly 15,000 inmates, including hundreds of suspected gang members deported from the United States in recent weeks.
Under the agreement with the Trump administration, the U.S. will pay El Salvador approximately $6 million annually to detain deportees. Some 250 alleged gang members have already been transferred to the Central American country, but the administration is also facing numerous legal challenges to other intended deportations.
Noem, who toured CECOT during a three-day Latin America trip in March, described the arrangement as a "long-term solution." Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, she said Bukele has plans to continue expanding the prison.
"He has 80-plus acres there that he's going to continue to build on," Noem said. Her meeting with Bukele discussed increasing the number of deportation flights and enhancing bilateral cooperation on security and migration. In addition, Bukele told the DHS Secretary that his country was focused on incarcerating alleged criminals rather than serving as a destination for third country nationals.
The two leaders also discussed the possibility of sending U.S. citizens convicted of crimes to El Salvador even though experts are warning such moves would be unconstitutional.
Bukele offered to house more prisoners, including Americans, during his meeting with Trump at the White House earlier this week. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the proposal generous, noting the high costs of incarceration in the United States.
"They're as bad as anybody that comes in," Trump said of violent U.S. offenders. "We have bad ones too, and I'm all for it because we can do things with the president for less money and have great security," he added.
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