'Psycho' who will never escape 'worst prison on earth' after killing 30 people has message for outside world
Richard Madeley came face-to-face with a gangster who butchered 30 people in a sobering documentary about El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison.
Once one of the most dangerous places in the world, El Salvador is now statistically the safest place in the Western Hemisphere, thanks to a mass incarceration of gang members in Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT).
Access to the prison is limited; however, Channel 5 were granted to film a documentary inside the building.
The result was Richard Madeley: Inside the World's Mega Prison, which saw the presenter left speechless at the size of the facility as well as the extreme tactics used to keep prisoners in line.
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After tense negotiations and even being briefly booted out of the site, Madeley was able to secure a five-minute interview with one inmate, a 'ruthless' gang member and convicted killer referred to as 'Psycho'.
Instructed to perform the interview in Spanish, despite Psycho being fluent in English, Madeley asked the man: "You killed 30 people?" to which he nonchalantly replied: "Yeah, si."
When asked about what it was like to go from being a gang member and 'King of the world' to being locked away for life in CECOT, Psycho explained that it was 'the end of everything' for him.
"We're not getting out because of the crimes we committed. So that's it," he added.
When confronted with the nature of his crimes, Psycho remained matter-of-fact, telling Madeley that once he entered into a gang he intended to die in that lifestyle.
"Remember that you don't think much in that life," he replied. "You do what you have to do.
"Maybe we cry at night because we regret our decisions, but in truth, there is no change in us," he added bluntly.
"All of us know that one day, even if this did stop we will return to do the same things outside."
Psycho is one of tens of thousands of inmates who will never be released from the walls of CECOT, instead living out the rest of their days under a strict regime which involves either being locked away in a cell or shackled for 23.5 out of 24 hours a day.
Reported crimes from other inmates include: setting fire to a bus full of people before shooting anyone attempting to free, hacking workers to death with a machete for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and filming themselves murdering civilians.
While critics of the prison have called it a breach of human rights, the policy appears to be popular, with Madeley noting how military men combing former gang strongholds being treated like 'movie stars' by residents.
Madeley is later taken to a local primary school, where a headteacher breaks down in tears when asked to explain how life has changed under the government.
"[It's] a drastic and severe deterrent, but perhaps the only solution," Madeley concluded, adding: "I don't think it's our place to lecture them."
Richard Madeley: Inside the World's Mega Prison is available on Channel 5's streaming service.
Topics: Documentaries, Channel 5, TV
Brenna Cooper