Should American Convicts Serve Time in Other Countries?
El Salvador has agreed to accept criminals from any country, including the United States of America, into their prison dubbed “worst of the worst.” Home to prisoners of any nationality, the detention center was designed to house violent gang members and killers.
While some citizens think this is a great plan, others question whether America should set the precedent of sending its own people to serve time in the prisons of other countries.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted the following to X, along with the images in this article:
“We have offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system. We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee. The fee would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable.”
Montgomery Granger responded, “A dream come true: outsourcing incarceration.” Granger is the author of ‘Saving Grace at Guantanamo Bay,’ and creator of the film ‘Heroes of GITMO.’
Patrick Webb, the co-founder of The Leading Report, called the idea a “genius play on both El Salvador and the U.S.” and others seemed to agree, stating that it was a “win-win for both countries,” and that it would be a “helpful deterrent for those considering doing the crime but afraid of doing the time.”
However, others were hesitant to send American citizens into other countries as prisoners, no matter their crime. One person asked, “How many strikes until you get a trip to El Salvador?”
El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center uses the Spanish acronym CECOT. It houses inmates who have been convicted of kidnapping, torture, and murder, some who have been sentenced to as much as 200 years or life. Lissette Lemus of Connectas called it “The Prison that Nobody Leaves.”
One X follower, an evangelist, entrepreneur, and visionary who uses the name “Lincs,” expressed his opposition to the idea as well. “I hope every human rights lawyer challenges these proposals. No US citizens should fulfill time for a conviction in another country unless they’ve committed a crime in that country’s jurisdiction.”
Prisoners at CECOT are not allowed visitation. There is no communication with anyone from the world outside of the prison walls. Only two meals are fed to the inmates each day, and there is no television, no cell phones, no amenities, and very little hope of ever getting out.
President Bukele makes no apologies for the fact that his country’s prisons are designed to protect the innocent people outside, not to provide comfort for the inmates inside. Many citizens of El Salvador sing his praises, insisting that he has turned his country around with his severe punishment for crime.
And while most Americans agree that those who do the crime should do the time, many aren’t so sure that time should be done in a Salvadoran prison, or in any other country besides the United States.
Should American prisoners be sent to El Salvador? Or, should the U.S. simply follow the advice of people like Donna Marie? She feels that “if we modeled some of our prisons like theirs,,.our crime rate would fall real fast!”
