A. M. El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly approved the incorporation of US$5.4 million into the 2025 budget to strengthen the country’s penitentiary system. With 57 votes, the deputies backed two key projects: the acquisition of electronic bracelets for inmates in the trust phase and the improvement of industrial kitchens in prisons.
Of the amount approved, US$3.9 million will be used to purchase 3,108 electronic monitoring devices. These will enable more effective surveillance of inmates participating in the Zero Leisure Plan, which promotes their social reintegration through activities such as beach cleaning, school construction, and infrastructure maintenance.
The second project involves the construction and equipping of industrial kitchens in priority prisons, with an investment of US$1.48 million. The intention is for the inmates themselves to prepare their own food, promoting self-sufficiency and job skills within the prisons.
Both projects will be financed with part of a US$71 million loan granted by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) in 2013. Of this total, US$15.75 million is being executed by the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y de Transporte (MOPT).
The Plan Cero Ocio has allowed inmates to collaborate in social infrastructure works such as hospitals, housing, and schools, in addition to participating in community and environmental tasks in various areas of the country.
