El Salvador leader defends mega-prison

SAN SALVADOR

El Salvador's leader Nayib Bukele on Dec. 23 defended a huge prison that has become key to deportations from the United States under President Donald Trump, after drawing criticism for alleged rights abuses.

The Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) is a maximum security facility lauded by Bukele as part of his attempts to rid the Central American country of prolific narco-gangs.

U.S. broadcaster CBS News had been due to air an investigation on Dec. 21 about alleged abuses at CECOT on its flagship "60 Minutes" program, but it was pulled at the last minute, leading to accusations of political meddling.

Bukele fired back on Dec. 23 against allegations about the prison's conditions, saying that "if you are convinced that torture is taking place at CECOT, El Salvador is ready to cooperate fully" by releasing the entire prison population to any country willing to take them.

"The only condition is straightforward: It must be everyone," Bukele said in the social media post, specifying that this would include "all gang leaders and all those described as political prisoners."

CECOT has also been at the center of a major U.S. legal case since March, when the Trump administration sent hundreds of Venezuelan and other migrants there despite a judge's order that they be returned to the United States.

Several deportees who have since been released have made claims of repeated abuse at the facility, with human rights groups echoing these allegations.