- It looks like a sea of skin and tattoos.
These images released by El Salvador's government
shows the transfer of about 2,000 inmates, stripped
to their shorts, and with their heads
shaved, to what's been dubbed the country's new mega prison.
It just opened.
It's believed to be the largest prison in the Americas
with a capacity for 40,000 people.
And it's the latest step in a controversial crackdown
on crime that's caused the country's
prison population to soar.
Human rights organizations have reported that innocent people
have been caught up in the law enforcement
campaign, that includes dozens, they say,
who've died in police custody.
Last year, the country's president
asked Congress for emergency powers
to temporarily suspend some constitutional rights,
after a massive spike in murders attributed to gang crime.
It includes that arrests can be made without a warrant
and detainees no longer have a right to a lawyer.
Private communications of all citizens
can also be accessed by the government.
Since then, about 64,000 suspects have been arrested
and murder reports fell about 57% last year.