US deportees face brutal conditions in El Salvador mega-prison: ‘Severe overcrowding, inadequate food’

 

 

"he US has accused these people of gang membership, so on the one hand, there’s a concern that they could attract the attention of rival gangs or cartels operating in the prison. For someone to come in and be perceived, whether or not it’s true, as being a member of a different gang is a territorial threat – and gangs in prison maintain their territorial control through violence and intimidation.

 

And then there is a chance people who have been deported from the US will also have a higher risk of targeting because of their connections to people in the US, and to the US economy. We know this kind of targeting also happens to Salvadorians who are deported from the US. They could be targeted for physical violence as a threat to make them pay, for example – that’s one of the many concerns I have."

 

read interview with Political scientist Mneesha Gellman

US deportees face brutal conditions in El Salvador mega-prison: ‘Severe overcrowding, inadequate food’ | Trump administration | The Guardian