Footage shows detained migrants spelling out chilling signal with their bodies in fear of going to ‘world’s worst prison’
The video was taken by Reuters reporters. It shows a group of detained migrants using their bodies to form a message, clearly afraid they might be sent to a prison in El Salvador known for being extremely harsh.
More than 250 people suspected of crimes have been sent to this prison, called the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT). This is part of a deportation policy supported by President Trump, using an old law from World War II.
This massive prison covers 410 acres and can hold up to 40,000 prisoners, making it one of the biggest in the world, according to the government.
The prison is made up of eight large blocks, and each block is divided into smaller sections. Reports say prisoners are kept with 65 to 70 others in the same cell for nearly 24 hours a day.
The cells are overcrowded and have only basic items like an open toilet, a cement sink, and stacked metal beds, which means inmates often have to sit very close to one another.
People held in CECOT aren’t allowed outside. They can only exercise for 30 minutes each day inside the prison hallways.
Even though the building has things like big dining halls, lounges, a gym, and games, those are only for the 2,000 guards who work there. The inmates can’t use them.
It’s clear why no one wants to be sent there. At a detention center in Anson, Texas, called Bluebonnet, some of the detainees sent a clear message about their fear of being deported. Reuters flew a drone over the area and captured 31 men lying on the ground to form the letters “SOS.”
Many of these migrants, especially those from Venezuela, are scared they’ll be sent to the El Salvador prison. They say they were wrongly accused of being in a gang called Tren de Aragua.
Families of seven men told Reuters their loved ones have nothing to do with the gang.
One of the detainees, 19-year-old Jeferson Escalona, spoke to Reuters by phone from the detention center. He said, “They are making false accusations about me. I’m not in a gang. I’m scared for my life here. I want to return to Venezuela.”
The company that runs the Texas facility said that all detainees get meals planned by a certified dietitian to make sure they get enough to eat each day.
