The Rising Implications of El Salvador’s “Black Hole” Mega Prison
- WULR Team
- Dec 8, 2025
- 5 min read
An analysis of El Salvador’s CECOT and its potential role in the weaponization of maximum-security mega prisons amidst human rights violations
Written in Spring, 2025
Written by Kiana Tu
El Salvador, once dubbed the “murder capital of the world”, has undergone a radical transformation, boasting one of the lowest homicide rates in all of the Western Hemisphere, according to Foreign Policy. President Nayib Bukele spearheaded this transformation, promising to transform El Salvador into “‘the safest country in the Western Hemisphere’”, as reported by CNN. Focused on his mission, Bukele has enforced strict measures to crack down on gangs, launching a "war on gangs" that has significantly reduced gang violence in El Salvador by following Mano Dura policies. The Mano Dura policies are defined by the CSIS as “stringent, hardline policies implemented by several Latin American governments to combat rampant gang violence and criminal activity”, which “typically involve ramping up police and military presence, employing aggressive law enforcement tactics, conducting mass arrests, and imposing stricter penalties on those linked to criminal activities.”
Strict enforcement of Mano Dura policies commenced on March 27, 2022, when a surge of gang killings caused El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly to declare a state of emergency, which remains to this day, as the Human Rights Watch explains. During this state of emergency, a suspension of constitutional rights, such as freedom of association and due process, has ensued. PBS reveals the prison system was allowed to forgo providing a reason for arrests, resulting in the detention of thousands of individuals who may be innocent. The state of emergency led to, as highlighted by CBS News, the “imprisonment of more than 80,000 people, making El Salvador the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world.” A place was needed to hold these ruthless and dangerous gang members taken from the streets. Thus, El Salvador’s notorious mega prison, officially known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, was established.
The construction of this maximum-security prison, intended to hold El Salvador’s most dangerous criminals, has raised concerns among human rights groups, who are questioning the conditions inside the facility. BBC illuminates how critics have called the prison a “‘black hole of human rights.’” Many of these concerns have neither been investigated nor disclosed to the public. The Princeton Political Review emphasizes how “criteria for incarceration at CECOT has not been made public, and barring rare exceptions, reporters and news media outlets are seldom allowed inside the facility.” During the periods of mass incarceration, The Wall Street Journal underscores how families have been split apart with no information on when they will be released, given court dates, allowed trials or followed due processes. Salvadorans have been incarcerated unjustly, contributing to the severe disregard for civil liberties. Essentially, upon arrest, individuals vanish into the prison system, their voices silenced and their fates obscured from public view. A Salvadoran family, whose son Mario has no apparent gang affiliation, tells the New York Times they have not heard from or seen Mario in two years. They have no idea how he’s doing. Human Rights Watch reported that during the crackdown, “many detainees have no apparent connections to gang-related violence. Arrests often appear to be based on appearance and anonymous complaints, rather than evidence.” The mass arrests underscore the performative aspect of Bukele’s security strategy, which prioritizes being "number one" over providing consistent and comprehensive data on the full scope of violence and crime in El Salvador. The crackdown has made the streets safer, but it has come at the cost of those unjustly incarcerated and a lack of transparency within the prison system.
As for conditions within the prison, inmates are allotted a metal bunk with no sheets, pillows or mattresses and are locked inside their crowded cells for 23.5 hours a day, according to CNN. As for their diet, CNN reveals “no meat is ever served,” indicating that inmates are kept on a diet designed solely for “survival.” In addition to these morally questionable living conditions, Princeton Political Review reveals how “inmates are allowed no contact with the outside world except to seek legal counsel.” The New York Times explains how a Salvadoran organization called Cristosal interviewed recently released Salvadorans detained during the crackdown. They described the horrors they witnessed inside the country’s prison system: “beatings, deaths, starvation rations.” Moreover, Cristosal's executive director, Noah Bullock, told The Washington Post that some were beaten so severely that their internal organs — specifically their stomachs and intestines — were critically damaged. As a result, they lost the ability to eat and eventually died from starvation. The operations and daily procedures inside the prison remain shrouded in secrecy as authorities have enforced strict censorship to limit transparency and external scrutiny. The core principle of the prison’s procedures is deprivation — stripping inmates of entertainment, education, privacy, visitation, nutritious food and adequate space — constituting a clear violation of human rights.
The prison, designed to disrupt gang coordination and influence both within and beyond its walls, “currently houses approximately 14,000 inmates convicted of gang activity, all of whom will spend the remainder of their respective lives there,” according to the Princeton Political Review. With a prison facility designed to accommodate up to 40,000 inmates, Bukele has been looking to source convicts to fill the cells, specifically those from the U.S. CBS News reports Bukele’s proposal to allow the United States to outsource part of its prison system to El Salvador, stating the arrangement would be made “‘in exchange for a fee.’” In response to the proposal, the Brennan Center notes President Donald Trump’s strong support, saying, “‘If we had the legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat.’” Many are worried about the possibilities of U.S. citizens being transported to a foreign country tainted with human rights violations and riddled with the absence of due process. Should the Trump administration continue to explore the legality of accepting Bukele’s offer to house U.S. convicts in CECOT, such an action would violate both U.S. law and the Constitution. Furthermore, the SAIS Review illuminates how the deal supports the Trump administration’s “efforts to accelerate deportations and deter illegal immigration while simultaneously offering a potential solution to the U.S.’s own overcrowded prison system” in addition to strengthening ties with El Salvador as the “nation positions itself as a valuable partner to the Trump administration.” The deal not only violates principal legislation but also represents a politically charged agenda.
Just recently, TIME reports CECOT “became the latest tool in U.S. President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration on Sunday [March 16, 2025], when hundreds of immigrants facing deportation were transferred there.” PBS suggests the immigrants are allegedly members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, being deported on the justification of their violating the Alien Enemies Act of 1789. The Brennan Center explains this as “a wartime authority allowing the president to detain or deport the natives and citizens of an enemy nation.” The law permits the president to target these immigrants without a hearing and based only on their country of birth or citizenship.” Essentially, Trump has exercised this act unlawfully, seeking to speedily deport immigrants who would otherwise have protections under our nation’s laws. According to TIME, the agreement states the Trump administration will pay Bukele's government $6 million for one year of services. We are already witnessing the implications of the services CECOT provides as Bukele seeks to profit from his prized creation. Bukele’s offer of such a powerful prison facility to influential nations highlights its potential for weaponization. In the wrong hands, CECOT is an oppressive tool used to advance political agendas while violating fundamental human rights. The prison's expansion to house international convicts sets a dangerous precedent, one that could lead to the development of a new and potent form of institutionalized weaponization.
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