What to know about El Salvador's mega-prison after Trump deal to send people there

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — 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.

The U.S. government cannot deport American citizens and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that “there are obviously legalities involved. ”

“We have a constitution,” he acknowledged. ”But it’s a very generous offer ... obviously, the administration will have to make a decision.”

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has made the country’s stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his aggressive fight against crime. Since March 2022, more than 84,000 people have been arrested, many with little to no due process.

Even before the campaign against gangs, El Salvador’s prisons were notoriously violent and overcrowded but the crown jewel of Bukele's fight is the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, he opened in 2023.

In slickly produced videos, prisoners in boxer shorts are marched into prison yards and made to sit nearly atop each other. They are packed into cells without enough bunks for everyone.

At the time, Bukele tweeted: “El Salvador has managed to go from being the world’s most dangerous country, to the safest country in the Americas. How did we do it? By putting criminals in jail. Is there space? There is now.”

Even before his announcement with Rubio, Bukele had planned to put more people in prison.

What is the CECOT?

Bukele ordered the mega-prison built as he began his campaign against El Salvador’s gangs in March 2022. It opened a year later in the town of Tecoluca, about 72 kilometers (45 miles) east of the capital.

Able to hold 40,000 inmates, the CECOT is made up of eight sprawling pavilions. Its cells hold 65 to 70 prisoners each. They do not receive visits. There are no programs preparing them to return to society after their sentences, no workshops or educational programs. They are never allowed outside.

The exceptions are occasional motivational talks from prisoners who have gained a level of trust from prison officials. Prisoners sit in rows in the corridor outside their cells for the talks or are led through exercise regimens under the supervision of guards.

Bukele’s justice minister has said that those held would never return to their communities.

The prison's dining halls, break rooms, gym and board games are for guards.

How many prisoners does El Salvador hold?

In April 2021, a year before the start of the state of emergency, the government reported nearly 36,000 prisoners.

The government doesn’t regularly update the figure but the human rights organization Cristosal reported that in March 2024 El Salvador — population 6.36 million — held 110,000 people, including those sentenced to prison and those still awaiting trial.

What do human rights advocates say?

Cristosal reported last summer that at least 261 people had died in El Salvador’s prisons during the gang crackdown. The group and others have cited cases of abuse, torture and lack of medical attention.

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AP writer Matthew Lee in San Salvador contributed to this report.