El Salvador is home to what is considered ‘the world’s worst prison,’ where President Donald Trump could potentially send US citizens.
The Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a maximum-security facility, opened in 2023 during President Nayib Bukele’s administration as part of a strategy to combat gang violence.
Situated in Tecoluca, the prison is touted as one of the most secure in the world, with a capacity to house up to 40,000 inmates, including some of the nation’s most dangerous criminals.
Inside El Salvador’s notorious Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a heavily fortified prison, inmates are under constant surveillance. The facility is surrounded by 19 towers and secured by two concrete walls and electrified fences, ensuring its status as one of the most secure prisons in the world.
Despite its harsh conditions, the Trump administration has shown support for CECOT.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on February 3 that President Nayib Bukele has agreed to an extraordinary migratory deal, allowing the US to deport criminals to El Salvador’s notorious prison system.
CECOT, which houses some of the country’s most dangerous criminals, is known for its inhumane conditions. Prisoners live in overcrowded cells without proper ventilation, where temperatures soar to 35°C during the day. The facilities provide minimal relief, with only a faint breeze coming through the ceiling lattice. Inmates are forced to sleep on metal bunks without mattresses or bedding.
The prison’s harsh environment is underscored by the food provided: a basic diet of rice, beans, hard-boiled eggs, or pasta, eaten with their hands. The prison is primarily filled with gang members, murderers, and terrorists who are closely watched by hooded guards armed with guns.
President Bukele has offered to accept US citizens, legal residents, and criminals currently serving sentences in US prisons. He is willing to take in convicted criminals for a fee, outsourcing part of the US prison system. However, the prisoners will be subjected to strict and brutal conditions.
BBC News Mundo reporter Leire Venta, who visited CECOT last year, described the scene as oppressive. Inmates, deprived of basic comforts and privacy, are constantly monitored. Guards warn outsiders not to make eye contact with the dangerous criminals inside, and they are reminded that anything could be turned into a weapon. The prison remains a symbol of El Salvador’s extreme approach to handling crime, offering no mercy for its inhabitants.
