What we know about CECOT, the brutal prison at the heart of the latest 60 Minutes controversy
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Terrorism Confinement Center, known by its Spanish acronym CECOT, is the Salvadoran prison at the center of the latest controversy on CBS’s flagship. 60 Minutes.
A segment about a prison that closely monitors the Trump administration’s deportation policies was pulled hours before it was set to air, angering CBS staff and raising questions about the US government’s influence over the news outlet.
But the prison building has been controversial for a long time 60 Minutes they got involved, and even before the US sent hundreds of more Venezuelan migrants there without trial.
What is CECOT? And why does a prison in rural El Salvador often described as “infamous” have anything to do with the US?
Here’s a closer look.
The central episode of the demolition of the ‘cool dictator’
The prison was opened in February 2023 as the site of President Nayib Bukele’s torture of gangs, the prison is believed to be the largest in the Americas.
The 23-hectare facility is located 70 kilometers east of the capital, San Salvador, and can hold 40,000 prisoners.
The facility, which cost US$115 million, is part of Bukele’s popular security policy, which has led to a dramatic drop in the number of homicides.
Calling himself the “coolest dictator in the world,” Bukele, 44, declared a state of emergency in March 2022 in which tens of thousands were arrested, including gang members.
What’s it like inside?
The complex consists of eight large blocks, each with cells housing about 70 prisoners, the SAIS Review of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University said in an analysis earlier this year.
It prioritizes safety and isolation over rehabilitation.
The cells have no windows and the jackets are bare and metal. Each cell has two sinks and two toilets with no privacy. Cameras and security guards are everywhere.
A report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights last September expressed concern about overcrowding in CECOT, citing a study that found that prisoners have an average of 0.6 square meters, which is below international standards, which vary from three to six meters of space.
Images from the facility – often expertly produced photos and videos – show inmates crowded together with shaved heads and wearing only shorts.
The prison has no outdoor recreation area and no family visits are allowed. Dining halls, lounges, gym and board games are for security.
Of 60 Minutes part, which was briefly available in Canada, two men who had been deported to CECOT reported being tortured, beaten and tortured. One Venezuelan said he was punished for sexual abuse and solitary confinement.
Another college student who said the guards beat him and pulled out his tooth.
“When you get there, you just know you’re in hell, you don’t need anyone to tell you,” he said.
Why is the US involved?
Bukele invited them.
During a visit to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February, the Salvadoran president promised to detain criminals deported to the US in a large prison.
The Trump administration seized him in March, using an 18th-century martial law to send mostly Venezuelan migrants suspected of being gang members to CECOT.
The SAIS review says the deal between the two countries is helping Trump’s brutal immigration crackdown while burning Bukele’s tough image and offering financial incentives.
The U.S. government has paid El Salvador nearly $6 million to host deportees, the White House said.
Why is prison controversial?
Even before the US got involved, many human rights organizations criticized El Salvador’s prisons, especially CECOT. Groups have reported human rights violations including torture, mass prosecutions and hundreds of deaths of detainees.
At the same time, the prison has attracted praise from law-and-order politicians and many Salvadorans, who have welcomed the reduction in killings when Bukele attacked gangs.
The Trump administration has deported more than 200 immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act – a war measure – claiming they were members of the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. Andrew Chang explains how Trump is interpreting the language of the 1798 law to bypass the regular immigration court system, and why experts say it’s a slippery slope.
Regarding the deportation of the United States, lawyers and relatives of migrants sent to El Salvador say that they are not members of gangs and have no opportunity to dispute what the American government says.
The judges also questioned vague claims and scant evidence from the US
Human Rights Watch and the Central American human rights organization Cristosal found that “252 Venezuelans have been illegally detained and forced to disappear under international human rights law.”
In a report last month, the two groups said interviews with nearly 200 people revealed dire conditions in CECOT including lack of food, hygiene, sanitation and health care.
These organizations called on the government and human rights organizations, including the UN, to strengthen investigations into human rights violations by the US and El Salvador.
