Exporting Punishment: Human Rights, Security, and the Mega-Prison Model

Description

In March 2022, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador declared a state of exception. Since then, more than 88,000 people have been arbitrarily detained, often without due process or constitutional protections, alongside a significant expansion of the powers of the country’s security forces and the use of the Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT). This highly punitive security model has not only profound domestic consequences but also significant international implications. Notably, the United States has used El Salvador’s CECOT as a destination for the deportation of Venezuelan migrants, including individuals without criminal records. Welcoming Valentina Oropeza, a Venezuelan journalist for the BBC who has interviewed migrants, this podcast examines how CECOT has become a site of systematic violations under the international human rights regime, and how practices such as the U.S.-El Salvador deportation arrangement targeting Venezuelan migrants have been enabled. It reveals how the erosion of legal protections in El Salvador facilitates the continuation of an imperial pattern imposed by the United States, producing a profound imbalance of power and enabling the U.S. to deflect responsibility for its own human rights violations. Furthermore, the podcast raises the question of whether such a bilateral arrangement with the United States reflects the emergence of a“Bukele Model,” whereby states across Latin America could potentially outsource prisoners or adopt large-scale incarceration within their own national territories as a political and financial instrument. Together, the podcast critically explores the normalisation of the Bukele Model, how it obscures international human rights violations, and questions whether the erosion of such rights can be legitimised in the name of security and political or financial gain. By Abdullah Nazeri, Martina Maestri, Yoko Tanaka, Carolina Riera San Emeterio Mint 265 - Human Rights and Humanitarianism through the Concepts - Julie Billaud, Neus Torbisco-Casals - December 2025