Sri Lanka, May 5 -- Donald Trump says he is directing his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the infamous former prison on an island near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.

In a message on his Truth Social site on Sunday, President Trump said that "for too long America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat criminal offenders".

The reopening of Alcatraz - once notorious as one of the US's toughest prisons - would serve as a "symbol of law, order, and justice," he said. Leading Democrats said the proposal was "not a serious one".

The maximum security facility, also known as The Rock, was closed in 1963 and it is currently operating as a successful tourist site.

"Today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together wi...