‘Inhumane rules’ inside ‘world’s worst prison’ where Trump could now send US citizens
El Salvador is thought to be home to 'the world's worst prison', where President Donald Trump can now send US citizens.
Maximum security prison Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) opened in 2023 under President Nayib Bukele’s administration, in an attempt to crack down on gang violence.
Located in Tecoluca, it is said to be one of the most secure facilities in the world with a 40,000-person capacity, and home to the country's most dangerous criminals
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Inside the prison is a security team who monitor inmates 24/7, and with 19 towers surrounding the compound, it's protected by two concrete walls and two electrified fences.
Although the United Nations Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture Miguel Sarre once described it as a 'concrete and steel pit', it seems the Trump administration are in favour of CECOT.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday (3 February) that President Bukele has 'agreed to the most unprecedented, extraordinary, migratory agreement anywhere in the world'.
The El Salvador president said he is happy to take in people deported from the US, regardless of their nationality.
"We can send them and he will put them in his jails," Rubio explained.
"He [Bukele] has also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentences in the United States even though they're US citizens or legal residents."
The Salvadorean leader also clarified that he has 'offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system'.
But he noted that he would be 'willing to take in only convicted criminals' and his government would do so 'in exchange for a fee'.
BBC News Mundo correspondent Leire Venta visited the prison last year and has opened up about what she saw.
"It is the middle of the night, but in here, the artificial lights are never turned off," she explained.
"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.
"Hooded guards keep watch from above, gun in hand.
"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.
"They eat the food they are given - rice, beans, hard-boiled eggs or pasta - with their hands."
She said the director of the centre told her: "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."
Topics: Crime, World News, US News, Politics
Anish Vij