In San Salvador, El Salvador’s biggest move against crime thus far has been its creation of a massive prison facility that bars visitation, recreation, and education. This facility became central to U.S. President Donald Trump’s strict immigration policies when hundreds of immigrants facing deportation were recently transferred there. These individuals, believed by U.S. authorities to belong to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, were moved under an agreement that would see the Trump administration pay President Nayib Bukele’s government $6 million for a year of security services.
President Bukele has focused on leveraging El Salvador’s severe prison conditions as a key element in combating crime. In 2023, the country inaugurated the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where the deportees were relocated despite a federal judge’s ruling temporarily blocking their deportation under an old wartime law aimed at Venezuelan gang members.
CECOT was established by Bukele as a central feature of his campaign against gangs in El Salvador, initiated in March 2022. The facility was completed a year later in the town of Tecoluca, situated about 72 kilometers east of San Salvador. Its eight extensive pavilions can house up to 40,000 inmates, with each cell accommodating 65 to 70 prisoners.
The circumstances for prisoners at CECOT are stringent, with no allowances for visits or time outdoors. The prison does not provide workshops or education programs aimed at rehabilitation for prisoners upon completing their sentences. Occasionally, prisoners who have gained a certain trust level with officials may engage in activities such as motivational talks, where prisoners are seated in rows outside their cells or participate in supervised exercise routines. The justice minister under Bukele has declared that prisoners at CECOT are unlikely ever to return to their communities.
Facilities such as dining halls, recreation areas, gyms, and board games are reserved exclusively for the prison guards.
Regarding El Salvador’s prisoner population, official numbers are not regularly disclosed by the government. Still, the human rights organization Cristosal reported in March 2024 that about 110,000 people were imprisoned in El Salvador, including both convicts and those pending trial. This figure represents more than twice the 36,000 inmates reported by the government in April 2021, before Bukele intensified his anti-crime initiatives.
Human rights advocates, including Cristosal, have accused the authorities of human rights abuses. Last year, Cristosal noted that at least 261 inmates died during the government’s crackdown on gangs. Other claims of abuse, torture, and insufficient medical care have also been made. The administration has released meticulously prepared videos showing CECOT prisoners forced into overcrowded common areas. The videos depict prisoners in boxer shorts, while cells lack adequate bunks.
The deportations of these immigrants stem from Trump’s application of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a measure sparsely utilized in U.S. history. Under this law, the president, acting as wartime authority, claimed infiltration by the Tren de Aragua gang into the U.S., hence removing traditional protections for foreigners. This gang is notorious for its origins in a chaotic Venezuelan prison and gained notoriety through the mass movement of Venezuelan nationals seeking improved living conditions elsewhere.
However, the U.S. has neither named the deported individuals nor provided proof of their involvement with Tren de Aragua or any crimes committed on American soil. Video released by the Salvadoran government depicts men exiting planes under strict officer supervision, shackled at the wrists and ankles, hence needing assistance to walk. Upon arrival at CECOT, they were escorted in large convoys of buses supported by police, military, and a helicopter. The detainees were seen kneeling for head shaves, donning the prison’s uniform—white shorts, T-shirts, socks, and rubber clogs—before being placed into cells.
