Inside look at El Salvador’s mega-prison that Trump plans to send detained migrants
The Trump administration and the president of El Salvador said Monday that they’d struck a deal allowing the U.S. to ship both detained migrants and imprisoned citizens to the tiny Central American nation, which has suspended some basic rights as it battles powerful street gangs.
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El Salvador prison Inmates attend a class on social behavior from inside their shared cell during a press tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, a mega-prison in Tecololuca, El Salvador, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) (Salvador Melendez/AP)
El Salvador prison In this photo provided by El Salvador's presidential press office, inmates identified by authorities as gang members are seated on the prison floor of the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (El Salvador presidential press office via AP) (AP)
El Salvador prison In this photo provided by El Salvador's presidential press office, inmates identified by authorities as gang members are seated on the prison floor of the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (El Salvador presidential press office via AP) (Presidential Press Office of El /AP)
El Salvador prison A body screening device used to register inmates stands on display during a media tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center during a media tour in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. The "mega-prison" still under construction has a maximum capacity of 40,000 and is intended to imprison gang members, according to the government. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) (Salvador Melendez/AP)
El Salvador prison Prison guards stand outside holding cells at the Terrorism Confinement Center, a new "mega-prison" built especially for gang members, during a media tour in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Feb. 2, 2023. The government’s minister for justice and peace said the suspected gang members would never return to the streets, even though the thousands of those arrested during a state of emergency anti-gang campaign are still awaiting formal charges or a trial. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) (Salvador Melendez/AP)
El Salvador prison A guard speaks on a phone during a media tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Feb. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) (Salvador Melendez/AP)
El Salvador prison In this photo provided by El Salvador's presidential press office, inmates identified by authorities as gang members are moved at the prison, Terrorism Confinement Center, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 15, 2023. New rules passed by El Salvador’s congress on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, will allow courts to try accused gang members in group trials, in an effort to expedite tens of thousands of criminal cases for those detained under the country’s crackdown on street gangs. (El Salvador presidential press office via AP, File) (AP)
El Salvador prison In this photo provided by El Salvador's presidential press office, inmates identified by authorities as gang members are moved at the prison, Terrorism Confinement Center, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (El Salvador presidential press office via AP) (Pr/AP)
El Salvador prison National Civil Police from the anti-riot unit stand in the weapons and equipment area of the Terrorism Confinement Center during a media tour in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. The "mega-prison" still under construction has a maximum capacity of 40,000 and is intended to imprison gang members, according to the government. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) (Salvador Melendez/AP)
El Salvador prison Inmates exercise under the watch of prison guards during a press tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, a mega-prison in Tecololuca, El Salvador, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) (Salvador Melendez/AP)
El Salvador prison The Terrorism Confinement Center is illuminated during a media tour in Tecoluca, El Salvador, late Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. The "mega-prison" still under construction has a maximum capacity of 40,000 and is intended to imprison gang members, according to the government. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) (Salvador Melendez/AP)
El Salvador prison Inmates attend class on social behavior during a press tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, a mega-prison in Tecololuca, El Salvador, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Inmates wear masks as a precaution to not spread COVID-19. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) (Salvador Melendez/AP)
El Salvador prison The Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, stands in Tecoluca, El Salvador, late Feb. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) (Salvador Melendez/AP)
El Salvador prison A General Directorate of Prisons employee works in the video surveillance room during a media tour of The Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. The "mega-prison" still under construction has a maximum capacity of 40,000 and is intended to imprison gang members, according to the government. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) (Salvador Melendez/AP)
El Salvador prison The Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, stands in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) (Salvador Melendez/AP)
