Inaugurated in January 2023, El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) has become a symbol of President Nayib Bukele’s government propaganda. Folha spent two hours inside the prison complex, which houses around 20,000 inmates—mostly gang members—under extreme conditions.
Vários homens vestidos com roupas brancas estão aglomerados em uma cela de prisão com beliches metálicos. A cela está lotada, com presos sentados e deitados em diferentes níveis, visíveis através das grades verticais brancas.
Inside Cecot, Bukele’s Showcase Prison – Menly González – 15.dez.2025/Folhapress
Detainees spend 23 hours and 30 minutes a day in cells without natural light, sleep on metal bunks without pillows or sheets, eat with their hands and receive no family visits. The lights remain on around the clock.
Each cell, designed to hold 80 people, has only two toilets and two washbasins. There is no outdoor time or sun exposure. The only activities allowed are Bible reading and 30 minutes of calisthenics per day.
The complex’s director, Belarmino García, says that “for the first time there is a prison that meets human rights standards.” However, Venezuelans deported from the United States and later released told NGOs they suffered systematic torture, beatings and sexual abuse while held in solitary confinement.
