El Salvador's recently floated plans to enter international prison management could represent a Copernican shift in global correctional services. The proposal, announced during US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to the country, would allow Washington to transfer prisoners – including US citizens – to El Salvador's Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). The Central American nation, with the world's highest incarceration rate at 1,659 per 100,000 inhabitants, is exploring what could become a blueprint for cross-border detention facilities.

The CECOT, a $70mn facility, stands at the centre of this initiative. El Salvador is offering this jail to foreign governments, with particular interest from the United States, where annual expenditure on correctional facilities reaches $80.7bn for public institutions and $3.9bn for private facilities. The mega-prison is a key element of President Nayib Bukele's successful crackdown on gang violence, which has transformed El Salvador from one of the world's most dangerous countries into one of Latin America's safest.

For the country, the potential benefits are clear, as it faces financial pressures with public debt at $31bn—about 82% of its GDP. President Bukele's administration sees this venture as a quick fix to its fiscal challenges and a means to strengthen diplomatic ties with international partners. The Trump administration, meanwhile, views it as an answer to prison overcrowding and deportation challenges.

The initiative has sparked debate among international observers. Conservative politicians mostly see it as an effective solution to prison overcrowding, while human rights organisations express concern over inmates' treatment. Amnesty International has warned against treating El Salvador's prison system as a model, citing issues with detention conditions and due process.

Yet other countries have mulled similar outsourced incarceration plans. The Philippines and several African nations had previously proposed comparable deals with the US, though none materialised. El Salvador's approach appears different due to its existing infrastructure and political support.

Its ripple effects are already visible across the Americas, as Chilean conservative politicians have shown interest in creating similar arrangements with El Salvador for their foreign inmates. This could make the small Central American nation a regional hub for incarceration services.

The concept mirrors the American "Prison Valley" in Fremont County, Colorado, where 13 maximum-security prisons, including ADX Florence, have created an economy based on incarceration. Now El Salvador aims to scale this model into a global enterprise.

While the financial details remain unclear, reports indicate a per-inmate fee scheme that could help sustain the domestic prison system entirely. This approach draws inspiration from the business model of US private corrections companies like Corrections Corporation of America and G4S.

Some critics argue this development could set a dangerous precedent in international justice systems, potentially creating what they call a "corrections colony" in Latin America. Supporters counter that it offers a practical solution to overcrowding while providing economic opportunities for host developing countries.

As this initiative develops, it raises questions about the future of international corrections management and the complex relationship between justice, economics, and human rights. The outcome of El Salvador's venture could influence how countries approach incarceration in coming years, possibly shifting prison management from a domestic issue to a market-based international service industry.