Overcrowding in Latin America’s prisons has been part of the region’s background noise for decades.
The area has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, with detention numbers averaging 163 percent of prison capacity as of 2020.
However, the leaders of five nations within striking distance of the U.S. border are taking a new approach to the problem.
Lawmakers in Mexico, Ecuador, and Nicaragua are offering early release to thousands of criminals with “minor offenses” or who are awaiting trial.
In Cuba and Venezuela, lawbreakers and regime offenders are not only being released, many are exiled.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent watches over a group of illegal immigrants after tracking them through rugged terrain at the Organ Pipe National Monument, Ariz., on Sept. 28, 2022. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Consequently, U.S. security analysts and legislators are voicing concerns. With security forces overwhelmed at America’s besieged southern border, some say the door is wide open to those with a criminal past and no incentive to stay home….