Terrorism Confinement Center

On 26 March 2022, El Salvador experienced its deadliest day in history when gang violence killed 62 people.[1] In response to the violence, the Salvadoran government began a large-scale crackdown against criminal gangs.[2] President Nayib Bukele called for a state of exception, which allows the state to suspend certain laws and constitutional rights in the name of the public good.[1] In the following seven months, Bukele's government arrested over 55,000 people in a swift roundup of gang members that may not have been possible without the state of exception curtailing certain constitutional rights.[1]

Due to the large number of alleged gang members being arrested by the country's security forces, the government announced in July 2022 that a new prison with a capacity of 40,000 would be built to house those who were arrested,[3] as well as to relieve El Salvador's overcrowded prisons, such as the Zacatecoluca prison.[4] At the time of CECOT's opening in January, over 62,000 people had been arrested during the crackdown.[5] Additional measures taken by the Salvadoran government that have led to an influx of prisoners with alleged gang affiliations include the provisional detention period–which allows the government to keep suspected gang members in custody before conviction–being made indefinite.[1] Children as young as 12 years old can also now be tried for their potential gang membership, and it is alleged that almost 2,000 children have been arrested since this law was amended.[6]

Both Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street gang (Barrio 18) have their origins in California and were started by immigrants from Central America in the 1980s. Both groups found footing in El Salvador in the 1990s, when their respective founders were deported from the United States to El Salvador.[3] Today in El Salvador, MS-13 more than doubles the 18th Street Gang in size, and together, the two account for almost all of the nation's gang violence.[7]

MS-13 is one of El Salvador's most prominent gangs and has been a central focus of the Salvadoran government's current crackdown. In 2012, during the presidency of Mauricio Funes, the Salvadoran government paid MS-13 $25 million dollars as part of the 2012–2014 Salvadoran gang truce. In exchange, MS-13 was expected to quell the violence with their rival gang, the 18th Street Gang, in an effort to assist the government in lowering the national homicide rate.[8] The truce between the government and the gang sparked wide debate in El Salvador over its legality, before ultimately falling apart in 2014.[9] Since the truce's end, tensions have risen within MS-13 over the allocation of the government payment, with some gang members alleging that leadership kept exorbitant amounts of the payment for themselves. In recent years, MS-13 has taken a more militaristic approach, attacking cocaine traffickers for control over key passageways in the drug trade, which has led to increased violence.[8]

Like MS-13, the 18th Street gang has had a major presence in El Salvador in recent decades. In fighting their rival, MS-13, the 18th Street gang has been the source of much violence in the country. The 18th Street gang was also involved in the government-gang truce of 2012–2014, agreeing to a ceasefire with MS-13 until the deal fell apart.[9] Accounting for less than half of the size of their rival, MS-13, the gang has proven to be the clear second-most prominent gang in El Salvador.[7]

External videos
President Nayib Bukele touring the newly-built prison.

The entire plot of land devoted to the Terrorism Confinement Center covers 410 acres (170 ha), while the physical complex itself covers approximately 57 acres (23 ha). CECOT was purposefully built in an isolated area, away from any public institutions, urban centers, or any contact with the outside world. The facility has its own water and electricity systems, furthering its divide from the rest of Tecoluca. The eight cell blocks within CECOT cover around the same area as six football pitches.[10][11]

A guard tower within the CECOT complex, overlooking one of the buildings that houses inmates.

Upon entering the prison, inmates and visitors are subject to a thorough security screening. Those wishing to enter the prison must submit to a scan by cutting-edge x-ray technology designed to prevent illicit objects from entering the secure area. For inmates being transferred to CECOT, this security scan is immediately followed by a registration process meant to record their personal information and details on their criminal history. Additional security measures include constant video surveillance of the entire compound, a fully-stocked armory complete with firearms and riot gear, and a 15,000-volt capacity fence surrounding the facility.[11]

Within the eight main cell blocks, the cells are divided into modules. Each module contains two toilets, two washing basins, and 80 bunks (with no mattresses) for more than 100 inmates. While the inmates have constant access to the washing basins, the water is controlled by guards from outside the cell.[11] According to Financial Times, on average, each prisoner is given 0.6 square meters (6.5 sq ft) of space. There are factories for the prisoners to produce fabric. With a capacity of 40,000 prisoners, CECOT's inmate capacity is double that of the total population of the Marmara Penitentiaries Campus in Istanbul, Turkey—which would make it the largest in the world by total capacity. Looking nationally and continentally, CECOT dwarfs other notable prison facilities in El Salvador and Latin America.[10]

Separate from the main modules, there are corridors of solitary confinement cells. These solitary cells are complete with only a concrete slab for sleeping, a toilet, and a washing basin. There is no natural or manufactured light in these individual cells, and guards are able to observe inmates through a small window which guards can open and shut.[11]

The prison is secured by 1,000 guards, 600 soldiers, and 250 police officers; there are 40 inmates per guard. Its nineteen guard towers—seven on the perimeter and twelve on the interior—are staffed by seven soldiers each.[10] In the interest of prioritizing the guards' wellbeing, the facility is complete with resting quarters, lounge areas with ping pong tables, bathrooms, lockers, and a gym for the guards and police personnel. In a recorded tour of the facility posted to YouTube by Bukele, he claims such accommodations for guards is meant to correct missteps in previous approaches to incarceration in El Salvador: "Before, the gang members had prostitutes and PlayStations, televisions, drugs, cellphones, and computers. And the guards and soldiers were sleeping on the floor. It was all backwards".[11]

The contract to build the prison was awarded to two Salvadoran firms, OMNI and DISA, and the Mexican firm Contratista General de América Latina S.A. de C.V.[12]

Bukele's government has been vocal in its praise for CECOT and their broader crackdown on gang violence. Bukele has described the Terrorism Confinement Center as "the most criticized prison in the world".[15] On 20 March 2023, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security celebrated the 350th day of Bukele's administration without a homicide.[16] The government site regularly posts articles aligned with the mission of CECOT and the larger gang crackdown, including a post on 20 April 2023 titled, "The War Against Gangs Doesn't Stop", detailing the capture and impending imprisonment of two members of MS-13.[17]

On 1 February 2023, Bukele tweeted the following statement: "El Salvador has managed to go from being the most insecure country in the world to the safest country in the Americas. How did we do it? Putting criminals in jail. Is there space? Now yes. Will they be able to give orders from inside? No. Can they escape? No. A work of common sense." His statement was accompanied by a video showcasing the prison's massive size.[18]

A newly-transferred inmate of CECOT in 2023.

Since CECOT's opening but also dating back to the start of the government's recent crackdown on gangs, the Salvadoran government has been the subject of widespread human rights violation allegations. Before CECOT's construction was announced, Human Rights Watch published a detailed report of alleged human rights abuses perpetrated by the government. Humans Rights Watch accuses the Salvadoran government of "arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture and other ill-treatment of detainees, and significant due process violations". Notably, the report claims that as part of the recent crackdown on gangs, the government has made tens of thousands of arrests without sufficient evidence. It is alleged that some of these arrests were made based solely on the physical appearances or social backgrounds of individuals believed to have gang affiliations. Human Rights Watch claims that these arrests have disproportionately burdened the most socio-economically disadvantaged Salvadorans.[6]

The United States Department of State released a report documenting alleged human rights violations in El Salvador from 2022. This report alleges that the state of exception in El Salvador has put more pressure on the judicial system than it can handle, and as a result has created conditions not conducive to due process. The Department of State report (published before CECOT's conception) also alleged that prison conditions in the country declined during the state of exception, with the prison system taking on more prisoners than it was built for.[19] Amnesty International criticized the government, stating that the prison doesn't "address the root causes of violence" and that it only allows the government to continue its "policy of mass incarceration".[20]

A mass of inmates being processed at CECOT.

The opening of CECOT garnered massive media attention in the weeks after its opening. Major publications in the United States–including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press–chronicled the prison opening its doors to inmates for the first time.[21][22][23] Images of the prison's first prison transfers, described as being "dramatic" and "shocking", were circulated, notably being published in the BBC.[24] Salvadoran news sources have also closely covered the prison's opening. El Mundo, a national publication in El Salvador, published a story detailing the second prisoner transfer and documenting international concerns over human rights abuses.[25]

According to a poll conduced by CIESCA in March 2023, 96.4 percent of respondents supports the construction of CECOT, while 3.6 percent opposed it.[26]

A guard standing above inmates in 2023.

On 24 February, Bukele shared a video of the first prisoners being transferred into CECOT on Twitter.[27] The video shows thousands of men, all with shaved heads wearing only white gym shorts, being rushed from point to point as they enter the prison. The three minute video has over 7.1 million views as of April 2023. Weeks later, on 15 March, Bukele tweeted a similar video from the same account. This second video documents the second prisoner transfer into CECOT, and claims that the prison now holds 4,000 prisoners. The second tweeted video has over 1.8 million views as of April 2023.[28]