El Salvador Opens 40,000-Person Prison as Arrests Soar in Gang Crackdown

Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on Feb. 1, 2023. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via Reuters

SAN SALVADOR—Authorities in El Salvador have opened one of Latin America’s largest prisons, more than doubling the country’s incarceration capacity, as a government crackdown on criminal gangs is causing the prison population to soar.

The 40,000-capacity Terrorism Confinement Center was inaugurated on Tuesday to help relieve some of the overpopulation in the country’s prison system.