45 miles outside of San Salvador, El Salvador, lies one of the most notorious prisons in the world. The Center for the Confinement of Terrorism, commonly known as CECOT, is the holding place for thousands of El Salvadoran gang members.
In March of 2022, El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele issued a state of emergency to combat gang violence and activity in the country. To this day, this state of emergency is in place, and El Salvador is still taking serious measures to keep gangs off of their streets. CECOT was built in January of 2023 to accommodate the drastic incarceration measures being taken. El Salvador has the highest incarceration rate in the entire world. 80,000 people are imprisoned in the nation, which is over 2% of the nation’s population.
With a capacity of 40,000 people, CECOT is one of the largest prisons in the world. Although the specific number of convicts in the prison is unknown, prison authorities have stated that it is at least half full. Cells are filled with 80-100 people each. The cells are often overcrowded.
Inside of the cells, inmates sleep on tiered metal slabs without any sheets, pillows, or mattresses. Within the cells, the lights are on at all times, and there is constant armed surveillance. Temperatures within the cells can reach up to 95º F during the day within the cells. There is no air conditioning or cooling within the areas for the prisoners.
The cells within CECOT are immaculately clean, a drastic contrast to El Salvador’s notorious past of dingy and run-down prisons. For the convicts, there are two sinks and two toilets, with one basin for washing up. There is no privacy for the inmates.
Throughout the day, convicts are kept within their cells for 23.5 hours per day. They are only allowed in the hallways to do exercises or Bible readings. Prisoners are not allowed any form of entertainment. They cannot have books, cards, televisions, writing utensils, or anything to keep them occupied during the long hours they spend confined in their cells. Prisoners are not allowed to have any visitors or receive letters from loved ones.
During meal times, plates are stacked on top of each other outside of the cells during meal times. These meals are then pulled through the bars to be consumed. Breakfast and dinner are the same meal, usually some combination of rice and beans, a plantain, and coffee or atole. For lunch, the meal consists of pasta, rice, and a beverage. Sometimes plantains or hard boiled eggs are offered in the meals as well. In CECOT, no meat is ever served. The prisoners are not offered utensils with their meals, as “any utensil can be [fashioned into] a deadly weapon,” as stated by the director of CECOT.
