ROSARIO, Argentina — With watchtowers, perimeter walls, and severe restrictions, Argentina has begun building its first maximum-security prison for drug traffickers and contract killers—an imposing facility near Rosario that bears a striking resemblance to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT mega-prison, a model hailed by some and criticized by others as authoritarian.
Dubbed “Hell” by the provincial government, the facility is under construction behind Penitentiary Unit No. 11 in the town of Piñero, just outside Rosario—the epicenter of Argentina’s drug violence.
The prison, designed to house 1,152 of Santa Fe province’s most dangerous inmates, will feature four independent blocks, 24 watchtowers, and a double perimeter wall stretching 1,800 meters.
The site’s location is no accident. Rosario, Argentina’s third-largest city, has become a national symbol of narco violence.
In 2022, its homicide rate surged to five times the country’s average, drawing comparisons to Central America’s gang-plagued urban centers and prompting a hardline political response.
Inspired by El Salvador’s security model under President Nayib Bukele, the Rosario project mirrors the Central American leader’s controversial crackdown on gang violence.
Bukele’s construction of CECOT—the world’s largest prison, built to confine 40,000 alleged gang members—has captivated leaders across Latin America. Argentina’s new prison reflects that influence.
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich visited El Salvador in 2024 to study Bukele’s methods firsthand.
While President Javier Milei’s administration pushes a nationwide tough-on-crime agenda, the Santa Fe provincial government—run by a different party—has also embraced hardline measures.
Officials say the Rosario prison will implement even stricter security protocols than CECOT.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve applied the Bukele model,” Santa Fe Justice and Security Minister Pablo Cococcioni said, referring to a March 2024 prison sweep at Piñero that mimicked Salvadoran tactics. Hours later, a series of random killings brought Rosario to a halt.
But critics warn the strategy may backfire. Argentina’s recently passed Antimafia Law, enacted in March 2025, broadens the definition of criminal conspiracy and grants expanded police powers.
Experts say the law could lead to over-incarceration, filling prisons with low-level offenders rather than isolating kingpins.
Osvaldo Aguirre, journalist and author of Rosario Narco, argued that this approach overlooks systemic problems. “It focuses on prisoners as the sole threat while ignoring the role of corrupt prison staff,” he said.
In other countries, attempts to copy El Salvador’s methods have faltered. Ecuador had to relocate one of its mega-prisons following protests.
In Honduras, a plan to build a facility on the remote Swan Islands collapsed amid failed contracts and public backlash.
Still, with security dominating Argentina’s political landscape, officials remain determined to expand prison capacity and impose order.
But whether Rosario’s supermax facility will curb violence—or merely deepen existing dysfunction—remains to be seen.
