What is this place?
CECOT (Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo) is a maximum-security prison located in San Salvador, El Salvador. Marketed by the Salvadorean government as a solution to gang violence, CECOT has drawn intense scrutiny for its conditions, lack of due process, and human rights violations.
What is the issue?
The facility currently houses thousands of men, many accused of gang affiliation or criminal activity, without having been formally charged or granted a hearing to determine their guilt or innocence. Detainees are held in complete isolation, under 24/7 surveillance, and reportedly subjected to torture, extreme overcrowding, malnutrition, abuse, and indefinite detention.
US Role and Alleged Abuse of Power
According to a whistleblower, during the Trump administration, the U.S. government used a little-known 18th-century law—the Alien Enemies Act—to deport Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador. This was allegedly done in direct violation of a federal court order, and the decision-makers involved reportedly dismissed legal concerns with the phrase: “F* the courts.”**
This raises urgent questions about:
- The legality of these deportations
- The responsibility of the U.S. for knowingly sending people into a system with no exit
- The complicity in potential human rights abuses
There is now a firsthand account from someone who appears to be the only known individual ever released from CECOT. Their testimony confirms what many fear: that CECOT is, in effect, a life sentence without trial. The Salvadorean government has publicly stated that the only way out of CECOT is “in a coffin”—a claim tragically echoed by this survivor, who described being told upon entry into the facility that this is a place where “those who enter never leave.”
link to new york times article, link to human rights reports about the facility.
