El Salvador Throws Its Gangs in Prison. Problem Solved? or Massive Human Rights Violation?
In late October, a group of CNN reporters was granted a first-of-its-kind visit to the now-infamous terrorism confinement center known as CECOT.
Located in a remote area of El Salvador, CECOT is surrounded by electrified fences, concrete barriers, and barbed wire. Built to hold up to 40,000 inmates, the facility’s current population is estimated at 14,500. Built in just seven months and opened roughly two years ago, CECOT has become a symbol of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and his controversial crackdown on gang violence.
Bukele is the first Salvadoran president since the late 1980’s who does not belong to either of the nation’s primary political parties (the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN)).
Bukele founded his own political party – Nuevas Ideas (New Ideas) – in 2017 after he was ousted from the FMLN. He won a landslide victory in 2019 on promises to tackle gang violence and was re-elected in 2024 with over 85% of the vote after the nation’s Supreme Court overturned a ban on consecutive presidential terms.
Before Bukele’s presidency, El Salvador was ruled by its gangs and made headlines as the ‘murder capital of the world.’ Statistics from 2016 show up to one homicide taking place every hour.
Fast-forward to 2024 and there are now more days without murders than with in El Salvador. A total of just over 100 homicides were reported between January and September of this year.
How was this transformation accomplished?
Bukele declared a “state of exception” in March 2022 shortly after a gang violence episode that resulted in 62 deaths. The “state of exception” allowed his administration to ignore certain laws and constitutional rights. It was at this time that he launched his “territorial control plan” to remove gang influence and reduce homicide.
Since then, an astonishing 81,000 criminals (representing 1% of El Salvador’s population) have been arrested. At least 7,000 of those arrested were later found innocent and released, though it is unavoidable that some innocents remain behind bars.
Bukele, whose methods have been described as “authoritarian” and “autocratic,” told reporters why El Salvador now has the largest per capita incarceration rate in the world:
“Because we turned the world’s murder capital into the safest country in the Western Hemisphere. The only way to achieve that is to arrest the murderers…we don’t have a death penalty, so we have to imprison them all.”
Though his punitive strategies have raised human rights concerns throughout Latin America and the West, Bukele’s campaign against gang violence has reconstructed Salvadoran society and earned him uncharacteristically high job-approval ratings from locals. Salvadorans who spoke with the team from CNN said they feel much safer under Bukele’s leadership and are reassured by the presence of armed guards patrolling their neighborhoods.
One of the primary criticisms against Bukele is CECOT and the treatment of those trapped within.
Inmates are imprisoned for 23.5 hours each day and living conditions are more than stark: cells are designed to hold groups of up to 80, with members of the same gangs being placed together to avoid conflict. Cells contain nothing but metal bunks (without bedding), open toilets, plastic buckets and cement basins in lieu of showers, and large jugs for drinking water.
Inmates are not permitted to write or accept letters, play cards, or even read books. All meals are vegetarian. There is no privacy and the lights are never dimmed.
Inmates who commit crimes against their fellows are punished even further with 15 days solitary confinement in a dark, empty room with nothing but a tiny hole in the ceiling two stories above to let in a glimmer of light.
“This is what is for us,” says Marvin Vásquez, a 41-year-old inmate who spoke with the team from CNN. “They give you the three times a [day] food. They give you some programs. You get to do exercise. Some church or religion programs, too. But you know, that’s how it is. We got to get used to what we got to get used to right here. There’s no option for us. We did bad things. We pay it the rough way, doing time.”
El Salvador does not support the death penalty, and many if not all of CECOT’s residents expect to remain behind bars for the rest of their lives. Vásquez, a former leader of the notorious gang MS-13, has committed up to 30 murderers. “Some people wanted to be lawyers, cops, soldiers [when they grew up],” he added. “I wanted to be a gangbanger.”
Do individuals like Vásquez deserve humane treatment?
Juan Carlos Sánchez, a human rights advocate and program officer with the Due Process of Law Foundation, is one of many who have spoken out against the treatment of CECOT’s inmates.
“The abuse starts with how they enter the prison and how they are kept inside … it’s too extreme,” argues Sánchez. “For example, the food of a person in state custody…is a human right that cannot be deprived…it must be an adequate diet for them, not just to survive.”
Perhaps the biggest issue here is the fact that CECOT is also used to hold individuals not yet convicted – a fact that brings into question whether inmates’ right to due process is being upheld.
“Under these conditions, if they are ever out, they will not be rehabilitated…they will become a burden for the state, they will come out sick physically, mentally, they will come out with rage,” laments Sánchez.
His words raise a variety of concerns; concerns which in the US would likely be considered more important than the actual reduction in violence taking place:
- Should the constitutional rights of rapists and murderers be protected?
- Is the unavoidable incarceration of innocents alongside gang members worth the impact on the greater good?
- Is the Bukele Administraiton guilty of crimes against gang members?
- Would the death penalty be a more humane method of punishment than CECOT?
These questions are clearly not important to Salvadoran Public Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro, who claims that rehab is only possible for ‘common criminals’ (and not for the sort of people imprisoned at CECOT).“Someone who every day killed people – every day raped our girls, how can you change their minds? We are not stupid.”
In response to unfavorable press, CECOT’s prison director, Belarmino García, assured reporters that due process is being followed and that all human rights are being upheld. In his opinion, the harsh environment at CECOT is ‘justified and necessary.’
Author’s Note: The obvious success of Bukele’s methods – even considering human rights concerns – presents a stark contrast to the way in which violent crime is handled in the United States, especially when perpetrators happen to be illegal immigrants. I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Editor’s Note: The Constitution is not a suicide pact. El Salvador had sunk completely into anarchy, this was perhaps the only way to solve it, within the reach of the elected leaders. An outright rebellion would not be as dangerous.
Sources: “Exclusive: Locking eyes with mass murderers in El Salvador”
Wikipedia: Terrorism Confinement Center
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_Confinement_Center
Wikipedia: Nayib Bukele
Execute all gang members. Problem solved.
Wrong. What you forget is that the government of El Salvador was the original gang and abuse by it caused all the other gangs. Increasing government abuse by executing will not solve anything, but increase the need for rival antigovernment gangs instead.
Everyone knows that the causes of crime are injustice and poverty. If not for the US controlling all these Central and South American countries, there would have been no gangs. Gangs are the result of centuries of abuse. Creating concentration camps is not the solution. Gangs are not the problem, corruption, mostly caused by the US, is the problem. The gangs will now never go away, and will just increase. Bukele has shown that violence is what wins. So the gangs will just become more violent until they can overthrow the corrupt government completely.
There were no real trials and this does not at all represent justice in any way. It is degenerating into an even more blatant dictatorship.
It all sounds like a win win to me!
Tom, except for the innocents, children taken, tortured, and disappeared. And their friends and family.
Thousands of kids. 80,000 people. 1 out of ten gone.
Well Frank, if they threw all of the gangs in prison, won’t that stop the children from disappearing? Like the song Pat Bennetar wrote, “Hell is for children.”
Tom, children are innocent even when guilty. You know that. We treat children differently than adults. in our court system. We do not lock them in hell holes with adults. We don’t disappear them. We note that even if guilty as sin, chances are they are not at fault: the adults are.
I understand that the current policies are appreciated by many Salvadorians, makes sense, but after 2.5 years, will the dictator ever go back to the rule of law and governance by the people, for the people? That’s a true test on democracy, will the leader pass the torch and step down like we have done since Washington did.
I always get Pat B and Joan Jett mixed up, Jett was a bar band for me. Her song is about kids in NYC facing abuse. Kinda different, kind of home grown family hell, not jack booted thugs disappearing innocents without due cause in order to snag gang members. And are they all suspected gang members? Not a political dissident amongst them? Generally speaking, these activities voiding the rule of law, leaving all power to one man, do not end well no matter if the initial intent is. As we have seen, power obtained is rarely given away.
The author and editor conclude: “The obvious success of Bukele’s methods – even considering human rights concerns – presents a stark contrast to the way in which violent crime is handled in the United States, especially when perpetrators happen to be illegal immigrants. I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments section below.” “The Constitution is not a suicide pact. El Salvador had sunk completely into anarchy, this was perhaps the only way to solve it, within the reach of the elected leaders. An outright rebellion would not be as dangerous.”
First, what does “especially when perpetrators happen to be illegal immigrants,” actually mean. Does the author promote treating different classes of people differently under the law? Does the author not believe that “all men are created equal” and instead desires to classify different groups for different treatments under the law or even outside the law? Is the author suggesting that we void being a nation that favors the rule of law in favor of, “you scare me, so I will treat you as subhuman…..”
The editor feels when the chips are down, then the ends justify the means. There is some truth to that starting with the way we cheer the fictional Frank Reagan as he frequently voids the law to make ends meet outside of the law. Chicago mob dismantling during prohibition with FBI involvement over perceived interstate crimes, RICO statute invented to catch the mob in 1970 now extended to Trump in GA for election rigging. The Patriot Act to spirit the suspected off the grid. We have many instances we have trifled with the Constitution because the crime seemed to call for more than the law provides and now the law calls for more than the original intent of the crime targeted. But we passed law to do it; we didn’t cave to the whims of one man, no matter his popularity or results. That’s the difference. We are a nation of laws. El Salvador is one man’s nation.
His people love him just as Florida loves the lying, subverting DeSantis who hid covid data to make people feel better. This guy delivered safety to the murder capitol of the world. The people feel safer, they feel better. Along the way he imprisoned innocents, a lot of children; he tortures them, and many just disappear. One Salvadorian, paralyzed by gang gun, says he gets that, it’s a shame, but it’s nice not to be scared. Hard to argue with that. Like I said, this one man runs the country including the information. So the people don’t know that he cut a deal, that the lower echelons are arrested, but the gang leaders can be found in Mexico and other places. Not exactly cleaning house, but good enough for the man on the street who is safe while just as poor as ever.
Our crime here is that people like Gaetz, Cotton went there and want to bring this model to America where crime is down but naming enemies has never been higher. They celebrate this man; they celebrate his torture, his incarceration of children. Trump Jr and Tucker even went to his inauguration, two thumbs up. Tucker gave a soft-ball, suck-up interview and Jr said the man is great. The man tortures people, including the innocent, children, and even innocent children. Some just disappear. What a success! What’s not to like? Gaetz even noted you don’t see gay flags in El Salvador. Yippee Matt. No ads for child sex either Matt….
When our leaders celebrate, encourage, and even suggest we should try some of that, America is lost as a nation that lives by the rule of law. We cede the high ground to the dictator.
81,000 taken away. Thousands of children. Many of their families have no idea what they’ve been charged with, where they’re being held, when they might be freed — or even, in some cases, whether they are still alive. The police came one day and a family member never comes back. Abducted. Disappeared. There is no transparency to the detention; the limited due process makes it appropriate to label as forced abductions or disappearances. Legal aid organization’s research suggests that about one-third of those detained are innocent.
Gaetz, Cotton, Trump Jr, and Tucker are wrong; America is better than this. Our crime is lower, our laws are strong, don’t let these fucks whip you up to attack a group that is not criminal, not your enemy, but just some poor people from another country looking for the American Dream, just like you and I. Some people who harvest our crops, mow our lawns, bag our groceries. Jobs that Americans do not want and won’t take. The end suggested by Gaetz, Cotton, Trump, Tucker, the author and the editor is not necessary, and the means suggested are totally unAmerican and violate our rule of law. I am glad El Salvadorians are safer today, but an American version of this would end shortly after the last gangbanger was incarcerated. That’s the problem with dictators; they do not give what they take back to the citizens. They just keep going and going.