Life Behind Bars at El Salvador's Mega-Prison: No Escape for Gangsters

In El Salvador's notorious "Terrorism Confinement Center" (CECOT), the largest prison in Latin America, thousands of dangerous gang members live under brutal conditions. Inmates, including MS-13 and Barrio 18 members, are confined to their cells for nearly 23.5 hours a day, allowed just half an hour for exercise and no family visits. The facility, which houses 15,000 prisoners and can hold up to 40,000, is a central part of President Nayib Bukele's crackdown on gang violence.

Conditions are harsh: inmates sleep on metal cots without mattresses, are denied contact with lawyers, and endure a meager diet of beans and pasta. Despite their grim surroundings, Bukele's crackdown has been praised for significantly reducing the country's murder rate. However, human rights groups have criticized the prison's inhumane conditions, with some inmates forced to confess to crimes.

The prison’s 1,000 officers, 600 soldiers, and 250 riot police closely monitor prisoners 24/7 with CCTV. During a recent tour, prison director Belarmino Garcia described the inmates as "psychopaths" unlikely to be rehabilitated. One inmate, Marvin Medrano, serving a 100-year sentence for murder, expressed regret over his violent past, acknowledging the "no way out" reality of his life behind bars.

Over 80,000 people have been detained in the ongoing crackdown, though President Bukele admitted that 8,000 innocent people were wrongly imprisoned. Rights groups estimate that nearly a third of those detained are innocent. Despite the harsh conditions, the crackdown continues, with Bukele promising to maintain security and order in the country at any cost.