Salvador : Así es la vida en el CECOT
Juan Carlos
The Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) is the largest prison in the Western Hemisphere. It houses members of El Salvador’s three main gangs, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Barrio 18 Revolucionarios and Barrio 18 Sureños. Built in a record-breaking 6 months, this maximum-security prison can hold up to 40,000 inmates, part of the “war on gangs” launched by President Nayib Bukele, who has been praised for ending gang violence and bringing security to his country. The prison has been at the center of a media storm since the Trump administration deported more than 200 Venezuelan citizens accused of being part of the Tren De Aragua criminal organization this spring. This is a rare glimpse into the institution.
Since March 2022, when the country’s gangs launched a three-day murder spree, El Salvador has incarcerated about 2% of its population under an ongoing “State of Exception.” President Bukele has been widely criticized for the suspension of civil liberties that accompanied the crackdown and reports of related abuses. But he has also been credited with a reduction in violence and making people feel safer.
Preview
The death penalty was abolished in El Salvador in 1983. The country is one of nine countries that is "Abolitionist for Ordinary Crimes," along with Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Israel, Peru and Zimbabwe. The gang members in this facility were the instigators or perpetrators of atrocious crimes and have long jail sentences, ranging from 80 years to as many as 1,400 years. Before they were moved here, they were already serving sentences in other penitentiaries. Here they sleep on metal beds with no mattresses and are only given a thin white sheet to cover themselves. They are woken at dawn and are allowed to shower, but they have to dry themselves with either their bedsheet or their shorts. Meals are very basic: an egg, beans and tortillas, with a drink of either coffee or cornmeal. Following the roll call and strict security measures (mouth searches and handcuffs with belly chains) their daily routine can include exercise or worship. After dinner, they have to sleep with the facility’s lights on, under the watchful eye of the guards. This is how the gang members who used to terrorize Salvadoran society now live: C’EST LA VIE CECOT.
Juan Carlos
All the photographs in this exhibition were taken at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, El Salvador between 2023 and 2025.
