Regarding El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele’s plan to allow convicted American felons for a fee, Anand Mahindra has voiced his opposition. The Mahindra Group Chairperson called the idea an outsourcing opportunity he hopes India “never” embraces.
Proposal of El Salvador to the US
Known for his forceful attack on crime, President Bukele proposed the transfer of US inmates to CECOT—El Salvador’s high-security jail. This, he contended, would both make El Salvador’s prison structure fiscally sustainable and cost the US a very cheap solution. Bukele wrote in X, “Though significant for us, the charge would be quite little for the United States, hence making our entire prison system sustainable.”
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Mahindra’s Reaction to the Idea
In response to Bukele’s suggestion, Anand Mahindra posted, “This is one &’ outsourcing’ opportunity I hope India never becomes the champion of…”
His comments come in light of rumors of an agreement with El Salvador and the Trump White House. The United States is currently detaining unauthorized immigrants in federal jails as part of Donald Trump’s effort to restrict illegal migration. Used throughout cities including Los Angeles, Miami, and Philadelphia, detention centers are meant to hold 500 prisoners in Miami’s jail. Staffing problems, violence, and bad infrastructure have the US prison system under stress, therefore prompting authorities to investigate different possibilities.
US Secretary of State Calls It an “Extraordinary” Offer
El Salvador’s offer was termed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “the most notable and remarkable migratory agreement anywhere in the world.” He observed that El Salvador had agreed to keep on receiving deported citizens while also accepting criminal deportees of any nationality, including that from groups such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.
Rubio admitted legal obstacles even while he lauded it as a “remarkable show of friendship.” We have a constitution. Still, it’s a very kind offer, authorization will have to choose.”
Within El Salvador’s CECOT Mega-Prison
With a 2023 starting date and room for as many as 40,000 inmates, CECOT, a high-security facility in Tecoluca, is one of the biggest prisons in the world. Since March 2022, he has made more than 84,000 arrests.
El Salvador was home to some 36,000 inmates in April 2021 prior to the crackdown. For a nation of only 6.36 million people, that is quite a lot, reaching 110,000 by March 2024. Harsh rules and human rights worries over mass detentions without due process have subjected the prison to global criticism.
