Peru's Fujimori becomes latest Latin American leader to visit notorious Salvadoran prison CECOT

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori on Thursday visited the maximum-security mega-prison built by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). She is the latest Latin American leader to visit the prison that Bukele said is meant to house the most dangerous gang members.

The prison gained international attention when the Trump administration sent more than 250 Venezuelan deportees with alleged ties to Tren de Aragua, without providing evidence.

Fujimori, who assumed the presidency in July, had expressed her interest during her election campaign in building a prison like the one in El Salvador, amid an internal security crisis in her country caused by rampant extortion and a rise in homicides.

Her visit to CECOT comes more than a week after Costa Rican President Laura Fernández toured the mega-prison as part of a trip to meet with Bukele. The Costa Rican leader recently i naugurated a maximum-security prison amid an increase in drug-related violence.

Fujimori, who is scheduled to meet with Bukele later, was received by the Salvadoran Ministers of Security and Justice, Gustavo Villatoro, and of Defense, Francis Merino Monroy.

They explained to the president and her delegation, in one of CECOT’s halls, the design of the infrastructure, surveillance protocols and mechanisms to isolate gang members.

The meeting addressed an agenda aimed at deepening technical exchange between the two nations, and discussions focused on the transfer of expertise in citizen security, digital security, and the modernization of state services, according to a statement from the Salvadoran Presidential Communications Secretariat.

Fujimori praised the security efforts undertaken by the Bukele administration, calling them a “successful model, a very useful model.”

“As is public knowledge, Peru also faced historical challenges in the 1980s and early 1990s, confronting two major terrorist groups,” she noted during the meeting with the Salvadoran officials.

More than 90,000 people have been imprisoned in El Salvador under a state of exception , an emergency measure that began in March 2022 and suspends certain constitutional rights to fight gangs. The measure has come under scrutiny by human rights organizations, which have documented thousands of cases of arbitrary arrests.

The Central American country now has the highest incarceration rate per capita, with about 1.5% of its population behind bars.

The CECOT opened in 2023 and can hold up to 40,000 inmates. It gained international attention in 2025 when more than 250 Venezuelans and some Salvadorans, including Kilmar Abrego Garcia, were sent there. They were later released and allege they were beaten and tortured.

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