What happens in the Megacárcel of El Salvador that now houses migrants sent by the US?

The Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), the megacárcel symbol of the «war» against the gangs of President Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, houses since last weekend to migrants deported by the United States accused of being members of the Transnational Train of Aragua, and of which it is unknown what its state is or the conditions in which they are found.

This prison, with capacity for 40,000 people, was built to recruit the «most dangerous» gang members operating in the Central American country. At least 14,500 are imprisoned in this place, to which a group of more than 200 migrants expelled, mostly Venezuelans, from the United States.

Below are five keys that explain what the CECOT and its operation is:

1. «Symbol» of «war» against gangs

The CECOT was launched in February 2023, in the context of the implementation in El Salvador of an exception regime to «fight» gangs, indicated groups of committing most of the murders that led this country to be one of the most violent in the world.

The prison is located in an isolated and arid area in the central town of Tecoluca, more than 75 kilometers from the San Salvador capital, is a labyrinth of concrete, iron, asphalt and steel that guard penitentiary guards and soldiers from Torres with more than 15 meters high.

To get there it is necessary to cross two safety controls for vehicles and the visit, family or lawyers is not allowed, so, according to security authorities, prisoners are «completely incommunicado.»

The construction of the penitentiary enclosure entailed criticism of the opposition and of national and international non -governmental organizations, since the economic cost of the work was not reported, nor has the entry of human rights organizations been allowed.

2. Who keeps prison in the CECOT?

In the CECOT, the leaders of the main gangs operated in the country, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) and the 18th neighborhood, and the heads of the ‘clicks’, groups inside these bands, as officially revealed.

These gang members were transferred to the CECOT from other prisons in which they were held, to release space since one of the main actions contemplated under the exception regime were the mass arrests of alleged gang members and people linked to these bands.

An August 2024 publication in a local media indicates that, according to the Minister of Justice and Security, Gustavo Villatoro, in the Megacárcel there are 14,500 inmates.

3. Violations of DD.HH. in the CECOT?

Various human rights organizations have denounced the violation of rights in most prisons in El Salvador. However, in the analysis provided by these entities, there is no reference to cases of violations of rights in the CECOT.

For the lawyer Dina Martínez, director of the area of ​​access to the justice of the Foundation of Studies for the Application of Law (FESPAD), the above is due to the fact that access to this prison is not allowed and the lack of information provided on its operation.

This situation, according to Martínez to Efe, «cannot be corroborated due to the lack of access to other international humanitarian organizations or civil society organizations.»

«Access to facilities has been limited, only some foreign content creators have allowed income, which only highlight positive aspects of the prison,» he said.

4. No deaths are reported

Lawyer Ingrid Escobar, director of the Non -Governmental Organization Humanitarian Legal Relief (SJH), explained to Efe that «if we limit ourselves to the data collected by organizations and the lack of official information, apparently where there are no cases of torture or blows, and that they are also guaranteed (to prisoners) the right to health, it is in the CECOT.»

«At least the CECOT does not leave dead people (prisoners), not as in the other criminal centers. At least that they (the authorities) have it so hidden that we do not find out, ”he said.

In October 2023, the director of the CECOT, who at that time requested anonymity, told a group of journalists that they had access to jail that activities in the enclosure are «based on penitentiary treatment» and the right to health, because «the State is obliged to generate the conditions to be able to provide this necessary medical assistance.»

5. What is known about migrants?

So far, since the weekend, little or nothing is known about the condition of Venezuelan migrants who are held in the CECOT and how many of these belong to the band of Aragua.

The government has not specified if the Savior is exposed to possible legal implications for receiving and recruiting these migrants, expelled without due process from the US