A group of Guatemalan lawmakers has introduced a bill urging President Bernardo Arévalo’s administration to build a high-security prison specifically for gang members, inspired by El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot).
“The initiative is to have a prison for prevention and confinement, exclusively for gang members. Some properties seized from organized crime have already been identified as potential sites,” explained Luis Fernando Aguirre, a congressman from the Cabal party.
El Salvador’s Cecot, inaugurated in January 2023 under President Nayib Bukele, quickly became known as one of the region’s strictest penitentiaries. One of the government’s first actions was transferring top gang leaders into the facility, turning it into a regional reference for hardline security measures.
“It should be a detention center exclusively for gang members, and it should really serve to keep them away, preventing them from enjoying the privileges they currently have,” Aguirre added, stressing the urgency of replicating El Salvador’s model.