One of the world’s most controversial prisons has been the focus of a new documentary by British television channel Channel 5, offering rare glimpses inside the Center for the Isolation of Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador. The sprawling prison is seen as the main tool of President Nayib Bukele’s government in its fight against criminal gangs. Presenter Richard Madeley, part of the first British television crew to be granted access to the facility, described the footage as unprecedented.
“I have never seen people in such a state and kept in such conditions,” he said. The prison opened in 2023 and has since caused strong reactions internationally. It also became known outside Latin America when the Donald Trump administration sent some Venezuelan prisoners there. The documentary footage shows thousands of prisoners sitting in endless rows of cells. All have shaved heads, wear the same white uniform and are subject to extremely strict rules of discipline.
LIFE WITHOUT DARKNESS AND FREEDOM
The prison director, Belarmino García, has previously described CECOT as a “graveyard of the living,” a description that, according to the documentary, is not far from reality. The lights are on 24 hours a day, meaning prisoners never experience true darkness. When Madeley asked why the lights are not turned off even during recess, García replied that it is part of security protocol. “I need to be able to see what they are doing,” he said.
The prisoners sleep on metal beds without mattresses, receive around 1,800 calories a day and, according to the report, the only object they have for entertainment is the Bible.
Their daily lives are confined almost entirely to their large cells. According to the documentary, they spend about 23 and a half hours a day locked up, with only 30 minutes for exercise and Bible reading. Madeley also reported that a kind of “electronic bubble” operates around the prison, which neutralizes any electronic devices that might be brought into the compound illegally.
ABSOLUTE DISCIPLINE AND ISOLATION
One of the aspects that most impressed the British journalist was the absolute obedience of the prisoners. Many of them are accused of participating in the notorious MS-13 and Barrio 18 gangs, which have been linked to murder, extortion and violent crimes in El Salvador for years. Despite their criminal past, the prisoners are shown to meticulously follow the orders of prison staff and do not speak unless someone speaks to them. “I can’t imagine a prison in the United Kingdom where prisoners would be so submissive,” commented Madeley. According to the prison director, this behavior is the result of the harsh discipline that is applied in the institution.
Violations are punished by transfer to special isolation cells for periods of up to 30 days. These cells are described as completely dark and completely silent.
Prisoners are forced to move by touching the walls to find the metal bed, sink and toilet. Madeley noted that, after such an experience, returning to the main prison sector can feel like freedom. There are a total of 96 solitary confinement cells in the complex, although García claims they are rarely used. The director insisted that the prisoners’ human rights are respected and that all have access to food and due process. However, when the presenter asked more insistent questions about the conditions of detention, the documentary team was asked to leave the prison premises.