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What’s it like inside El Salvador’s mega-jail?

President Bukele's crackdown on gang violence has led to 75,000 arrests

Rival gangs in El Salvador used to rule the streets. It was one of the most dangerous countries in the world, with a really high murder rate. But now its President claims it is one of the safest in the Western hemisphere. How did he do it?

By creating a state of exception and arresting 75,000 people. Some of them have ended up in a new mega-jail, where inmates can’t have visitors, go outside, or even make a phone call. It can house 40,000 prisoners.

Human rights groups say many innocent people have also been arrested, with little evidence or access to due process.

A year after it was built journalists have finally been allowed to go inside. We hear from ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Mundo’s Leire Ventas who was one of them. And she tells us a bit more about El Salvador’s President Bukele, who described himself as β€œthe world’s coolest dictator”.

Also, Anselm Gibbs, the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ’s reporter in Trinidad and Tobago tells us about a mysterious oil spill that interrupted the islands’ carnival celebrations.

Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk
WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6
Presenter: Alex Rhodes
Producers: Julia Ross-Roy and Kevyah Cardoso
Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

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12 minutes

Last on

Fri 16 Feb 2024 03:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 15 Feb 2024 18:50GMT
  • Fri 16 Feb 2024 03:50GMT

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