The CECOT Prison Center Might As Well Be A Ticket To Hell

The town of Tecoluca, El Salvador, is the location of the crown jewel of prisons. It's where the infamous Cecot prison facility was built and opened in 2023, and while it doesn't look like anything alike, it could be called Hell. This is partially because those held at CECOT, according to the El Salvadoran Justice Minister, confirmed the prisoners located there will never return to their communities. 

While prisoners aren't supposed to enjoy themselves, in the United States, prisoners' rights are often more important than the rights of the victims or their families. At least, that's how it seems to many victims or their families as the system fails the people it's supposed to protect, the taxpayers in their local communities. Compared to the daily activities in prisons around the United States, such as in Illinois, the Cecot is what many hope prison would be. 

The CECOT is more than a prison. Used by the El Salvadoran government as part of a crackdown against runaway crime, it is technically a terrorism confinement center. So what does that mean? 

A look at the number of staff on a wing at any given time might indicate a subtle difference. A terrorism confinement center is different than anything Americans imagine a prison to be. Simply watching this news report and knowing how U.S. prisons are run, one with experience will tell an immediate difference between what they're accustomed to. 

From the moment the prisoners arrived at the CECOT center, deported gang members from the United States, they knew they were not in control. They're taken by two men, and their heads are held pointed at the ground as they are walked to where they're destined to go, kept bent at the waist as they move alone. This is done to keep them off balance and unable to resist, or one would presume, face immediate repercussions. 

There are multiple videos of the CECOT going around, and they should be considered as a deterrent to crime in the Central American country. They show CECOT prisoners in boxer shorts being led to common areas. There is such little space that they practically are on top of each other. Human rights complaints include abuses, torture, and a lack of basic medical attention. As if not having enough bunks for everyone and some people sleeping on floors wasn't bad enough. 

Immigrants Sent To CECOT

President Trump declared members of MS 13, one of the world's most savage gangs, as terrorists and used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to help deport them to other countries. Trump's claim that Tren de Aragua was an invading gang in the U.S. helped him to invoke wartime authority, an issue that courts will have to decide upon. 

When they arrived in El Salvador by the plane load, El Salvador's government released videos showing officers in riot gear lifting men and carrying them as they wore handcuffs and leg restraints. It was another time the security personnel forced men to bend at the waist and keep their heads down. This all comes at a price tag, alleged to be around Six Million a year the United States will be paying to the El Salvadoran Government. 

One would assume that the American Government must approve of the conditions of detainment in CECOT. The fact that the Secretary of Homeland Security used the video of her in front of one of the cells warning people not to come to the United States illegally to advertise the crackdown on immigration speaks volumes. Behind her, a few dozen men in shorts, most heavily tattooed with MS 13 gang markings and shaved heads, watched on as the cameras rolled while she recorded the video message. 

What's Life Like In CECOT

While the prison doesn't allow for much time out of the cells, it's guarded by 1,000 prison officers, 600 soldiers, and 250 riot police. CECOT prisoners are at a numerical disadvantage compared to their American counterparts, where on a good day, and with things operating as they are, things appear to be about 400 against 40 under the best conditions. 

Unlike an American prison, CECOT prisoners are watched constantly by CCTV and guards. This level of security is unheard of in most prison systems. 

Imates of CECOT prisoners leaving their cells indicate they are going to court hearings, which are done by video link, or to exercise for half-an-hour a day in a large hallway. They are kept outmanned, as the images indicate a near two-to-one ratio in favor of staff. Their principal diet consists of beans and pasta, and there is no meat allowed. 

Most notably, a prisoner in CECOT does not enjoy visits with family, and they are believed to be denied access to attorneys. In the United States, this is unthinkable, but this is another culture in another country. 

No Way Out of Hell (CECOT)

Cecot is a maximum security prison built to be effective and, for the sake of young people in El Salvador and surrounding areas, serve as a deterrent. 

AFP interviewed prisoners, and of the ones who spoke, both members of MS-13, they now regret their choices in life. They know that there is no way out, and this is where they'll die. They've lost family, friends, and freedom due to their choices. Their reign of terror is over once they land in the CECOT. 

Since the beginning of the Salvadoran round-up, as President Bukele declared a state of emergency, El Salvador has seen 80,000 Salvadorans picked up. In November, he admitted in an AFP interview that about 8,000 innocent people were among the 80,000. 

One human rights group estimates as many as a third are innocent.