El Salvador is home to what many call ‘the world’s worst prison,’ and now, thanks to an agreement with President Donald Trump, US citizens could end up there too.
This massive maximum-security facility, officially named Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), was opened in 2023 by President Nayib Bukele as part of his war on gang violence.
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Sitting in Tecoluca, it’s built like a fortress, designed to hold up to 40,000 of the country’s most dangerous criminals.
The prison is designed to be inescapable
Security inside is no joke. There’s a team keeping an eye on prisoners 24/7, plus 19 watchtowers standing tall around the compound.
And with two layers of thick concrete walls and electrified fences, escaping isn’t an option.
A place described as a ‘concrete and steel pit’
Not everyone thinks this place is a success story. The United Nations Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture’s Miguel Sarre once called it a ‘concrete and steel pit.’
But despite that criticism, the Trump administration seems to think CECOT is a good idea.
The US has reached a controversial agreement with El Salvador
On February 3rd, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced something pretty shocking — President Bukele had agreed to what he called “the most unprecedented, extraordinary, migratory agreement anywhere in the world.”
Basically, El Salvador is willing to take in people deported from the US, no matter their nationality.
“We can send them and he will put them in his jails,” Rubio explained.
He also mentioned that Bukele even offered to do the same for criminals currently locked up in the US, including US citizens and legal residents.
El Salvador is offering to host US prisoners for a fee
Bukele later made it clear that he had ‘offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system.’
But he also set some conditions — his government would only accept convicted criminals, and the US would have to pay a fee for it.
The prison environment is harsh and relentless
BBC News Mundo correspondent Leire Venta got a rare look inside the prison last year, and what she described wasn’t pretty.
“It is the middle of the night, but in here, the artificial lights are never turned off,” she said.
Prisoners endure extreme heat with no ventilation
“A waft of air filters through the lattice ceiling, providing a brief respite from the heat. The temperature in the cells can reach 35C during the day and there is no other source of ventilation.”
Security guards maintain constant vigilance
“Hooded guards keep watch from above, gun in hand.”
Inmates live in overcrowded and uncomfortable conditions
“Below, the prisoners climb onto the four-storey bunks on which they sleep. Without any mattresses or sheets, they have to lie on bare metal.”
Prisoners survive on basic and unappetizing meals
“They eat the food they are given — rice, beans, hard-boiled eggs or pasta — with their hands.”
The prison director warns visitors of the danger inside
According to Venta, the prison director had a chilling warning: “Here are the psychopaths, the terrorists, the murderers who had our country in mourning. Don’t look them in the eyes. Any utensil can be [fashioned into] a deadly weapon.”
One thing’s for sure: CECOT isn’t the kind of place anyone would want to end up. And now, it might just be getting some new, unexpected inmates.
