El Salvador is believed to host “the world’s worst prison,” a facility where President Donald Trump could potentially send U.S. citizens.

Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a maximum-security prison, opened in 2023 during President Nayib Bukele’s administration as part of a crackdown on gang violence.

Situated in Tecoluca, the prison is considered one of the most secure in the world, with a capacity to hold 40,000 inmates. It houses the most dangerous criminals in the country.

The prison is heavily guarded by a security team that keeps watch over the inmates around the clock. With 19 watchtowers around the perimeter, it is surrounded by two concrete walls and two electrified fences for maximum protection.

While the United Nations Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture, represented by Miguel Sarre, once referred to it as a “concrete and steel pit,” it appears that the Trump administration supports CECOT.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed on Monday (February 3) that President Bukele of El Salvador has “agreed to the most unprecedented, extraordinary, migratory agreement anywhere in the world.”

The President of El Salvador expressed his willingness to accept individuals deported from the US, regardless of their nationality.

Rubio clarified, saying, “We can send them and he will put them in his jails.”

He added, “He [Bukele] has also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently serving their sentences in the US, even if they are US citizens or legal residents.”

The leader of El Salvador also clarified that he has “offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system.”

However, he emphasized that his country would “only be willing to take in convicted criminals” and that his government would do so “in exchange for a fee.”

Leire Venta, a correspondent for BBC News Mundo, visited the prison last year and shared her observations.

“It is the middle of the night, but in here, the artificial lights are never turned off,” she described.

A faint breeze drifts through the lattice ceiling, offering a fleeting relief from the oppressive heat. Inside the cells, temperatures can soar to 35°C during the day, with no other means of ventilation.

Above, hooded guards stand watch, weapons at the ready.

Below, prisoners clamber onto the towering, four-level bunks where they sleep. With no mattresses or bedding, they are forced to rest on cold, bare metal.

They eat whatever is provided—rice, beans, hard-boiled eggs, or pasta—using only their hands.

The center’s director told her: “Here are the psychopaths, the terrorists, the murderers who had our country in mourning.

“Don’t look them in the eyes. Any utensil can be [fashioned into] a deadly weapon.”