Alleged members of a Venezuelan-born gang were roughed up and had their facial hair shaved after arriving to El Salvador's infamous Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) as part of a deal with the Trump administration.
Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele announced on Sunday that 238 members of Tren de Aragua were "immediately transferred to CECOT" and will remain there "for a period of one year (renewable)."
Bukele went on to say that the U.S. will pay a "very low fee for them, but a high one for us," and that "over time, these actions, combined with the production already being generated by more than 40,000 inmates engaged in various workshops and labor under the Zero Idleness program, will help make our prison system self-sustainable."
Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable).
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 16, 2025
The United States will pay a very low fee for them,… pic.twitter.com/tfsi8cgpD6
The president's message also included a video showing a large security operation carried out to take the prisoners to CECOT and their first moments there. The deportees are forced to bend over and walk facing the floor while on chains, firmly grabbed by officials wearing masks. Upon arrival they get their facial hair shaven clean and changed into white shoes before entering large cells.
El Salvador's mega-prison, built to house up to 40,000 inmates, has been a centerpiece of Bukele's tough-on-crime policies. His administration has used mass incarceration as a primary tool to dismantle criminal organizations, drawing both praise and criticism for its effectiveness and human rights concerns. The agreement with the Trump administration began to be negotiated during a visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February.
Trump commended El Salvador for taking the deportees, especially thanking Bukele for "your understanding of this horrible situation, which was allowed to happen to the United States because of incompetent Democrat leadership." The administration also ignored an order by a judge to temporarily block the deportations and turn the planes around.
The CECOT prison is known for imposing some of the harshest conditions for inmates, who are confined to their cells for all but 30 minutes a day, can't receive visits and have to sleep in stainless steel cots without mattresses. About 1,000 officers, 600 soldiers and 250 riot police guard the facility. All are watched 24 hours a day by CCTV cameras as well.
The largest prison in the country is on the edge of a jungle about 75 kilometers (47 miles) southeast of the capital San Salvador. Inmates only leave their cells if they have court hearings, which they attend via video link, while exercise is conducted in the hallways. They eat mainly pasta and beans, with the government expressly banning meat. They shower using water from a large basin and collect it from another barrel to drink, all inside their cells.
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