El Salvador opens 40,000-person prison as arrests soar in gang crackdown

FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador in a handout distributed to Reuters on February 1, 2023. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via REUTERS

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Authorities in El Salvador have opened one of Latin America's largest prisons, more than doubling the country's incarceration capacity, as a government crackdown on criminal gangs is causing the prison population to soar.

The 40,000-capacity Terrorism Confinement Center was inaugurated on Tuesday to help relieve some of the overpopulation in the country's prison system.