Donald Trump showcases 'worst prison on earth' where no one ever escapes in warning to US criminals

Donald Trump has credited deportations to a maximum-security prison where inmates are dubbed 'dead men walking' for curbing crime in the US – so what is life like in the world's most notorious jail?

45 miles east of El Salvador's capital city lies the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a 40,000-capacity mega-prison which has been central to President Nayib Bukele's crackdown on organised crime across the Central American country.

Since opening its doors in January 2023, the controversial mega-prison has been at the centre of a human rights controversy, with critics alleging that prisoners' human rights are being violated.

However, the prison also has numerous influential supporters, with the US leader being one of them.

Donald Trump included El Salvador's CECOT prison as part of his midterm election campaigning (Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)

Trump gave a shout-out to the jail ahead of the upcoming US midterm elections on his Truth Social account, claiming the US is sending its 'killers, drug dealers and thugs' to El Salvador, before going on to claim, "This is why murder and other crimes in America are at record lows."

The post included what appeared to be US deportation flights and images of prisoners at CECOT (Truth Social/Donald Trump)

Inside CECOT's 'cemetery of living men'

Access to CECOT is notoriously difficult, with the El Salvadorian government controlling what is reported to the outside world.

This was evident during Richard Madeley's Channel 5 documentary, Richard Madeley: Inside the World's Mega Prison, when the broadcaster struggled to get answers from the prison guards or interview time with one of the jail's inmates.

However, Madeley was able to get a pretty decent picture of what a day in the life of a CECOT inmate looks like – and it's absolutely brutal.

Lights are kept on in the prison 24/7, meaning that inmates are forced to sleep under blinding artificial light.

El Salvador's CECOT is one of the most controversial prisons in the world (MARVIN RECINOS / AFP via Getty Images)

Inmates are associated with El Salvador's notorious gangs and will never be released (Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)

However, this doesn't mean that inmates will never see darkness again in their lives, as CECOT's isolation cells are pitch-black and completely silent, meaning that troublesome inmates sent there spend 30 days groping around in the dark.

"[The main prison] would seem like freedom," Madeley said after viewing one of the prison's 92 isolation cells. "Boy, you would do exactly what you are told."

When it comes to meals, the inmates are given 1800 calories a day and live off a diet of rice, beans and a tortilla, all of which are eaten by hand, as cutlery is not allowed.

Inmates also spend 23.5 hours a day locked inside mega cells, only being allowed out for light exercise.

Recreation is also banned, with the only book available to inmates being the Bible.

CECOT inmates spend 23.5 hours a day locked in their cells, live off basic rations and have no recreational activities (Alex Peña/Getty Images)

Is Donald Trump sending US prisoners to CECOT?

Trump's post seemingly suggests that US criminals have been deported to CECOT, but how accurate is this?

In March 2025, it was reported that 261 Venezuelans were expelled to CECOT from the US under Trump's mass-deportation policy. They were later released back to Venezuela in July, becoming the only inmates to leave the prison.

Former inmates were also able to provide testimonies about their treatment inside CECOT, with one person claiming the jail's director, Belarmino García, told them the following upon arrival: "Welcome to hell. Welcome to the cemetery of living men. The only way you leave here is dead."

Meanwhile, it was revealed earlier this month that 100 El Salvadorans had been deported to the country. However, it is unclear whether or not they were detained at CECOT.