The mega-prison approach to fighting crime

In January, then-President-elect of Chile José Antonio Kast visited the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) in El Salvador, arriving by helicopter to tour the facility's pavilions. Prior to the tour, Kast stated that his home country needed to import effective ideas to combat crime, pointing to the Salvadoran mega-prison model as an example.

The event highlights a growing cross-national interest in large-scale incarceration models within Latin America as regional leaders grapple with rising criminality and public security challenges.