Salvador : Así es la vida en el CECOT

Never in recent Latin American history has a government locked up such a large proportion of its population: almost 2% of all Salvadoran adults are currently behind bars as a result of the war on gangs. For more than two years, President Nayib Bukele has managed to establish a climate of relative peace in a country that had long been plagued by violence. This peace is welcomed by a majority of Salvadorans despite the fact that it is based on authoritarian methods: arbitrary detention and the absence of trials, allegations of torture and suspicious deaths. Juan Carlos’ photographs depict everyday life in a country where peace has been bought at the cost of freedom.

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A member of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) gang reaches for meals to distribute them within his cell. Meals are very basic - an egg, beans and tortillas, with a drink of either coffee or cornmeal.

Gang members or “mareros” being searched before they go to do their daily exercise inside the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, El Salvador.

Gang members prepare to leave their cell before it is searched by prison guards at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), where there are between 15,000 and 20,000 inmates.

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A member of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) gang reaches for meals to distribute them within his cell. Meals are very basic - an egg, beans and tortillas, with a drink of either coffee or cornmeal.

Gang members or “mareros” being searched before they go to do their daily exercise inside the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, El Salvador.

Gang members prepare to leave their cell before it is searched by prison guards at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), where there are between 15,000 and 20,000 inmates.

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