Trump praises Nayib Bukele and calls El Salvador’s prisons “humane”

United States.- United States President Donald Trump publicly praised the management of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, whom he called a “great ally” and “one of my favorite people”, also highlighting the administration of the Salvadoran penitentiary system as a “very humane job”.

The statements were offered during the National Prayer Breakfast, where Trump welcomed foreign leaders and directly referred to the prisons in El Salvador. “Bukele runs quite large prisons… and they do very humane work, but they are very tough prisons,” stated the American president. Trump’s comments come in a context of increasing cooperation between both governments on migration and security. The US government has sent hundreds of deported migrants to El Salvador, including dozens who were transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), the most emblematic megaprison in the Central American country. However, the positive characterization of the Salvadoran penitentiary system contrasts with the testimonies of former detainees of Cecot, who reported to CNN having suffered beatings by guards, shots with pellets, lack of adequate medical attention and the denial of due process during their imprisonment.

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The Cecot was inaugurated in 2023 as part of the Bukele government’s security strategy, following a wave of homicides that led the country to a prolonged state of exception. The prison was conceived to house “the worst of the worst,” according to Bukele himself, whom he considers terrorists linked to gangs. Located in an isolated rural area, the complex has strict access controls via scanners, a main confinement building, facilities for guard dogs, and separate areas for custodians. It has a capacity for about 40,000 inmates, distributed in eight modules with concrete cells closed by reinforced steel bars. The cells, for community use, only have metal beds without mattresses or sheets, an open toilet, a cement sink, and a plastic bucket for personal hygiene. Even water consumption is controlled by the guards. Inmates remain inside the cells for 23 and a half hours a day, without access to books or entertainment. The remaining 30 minutes are used to go out to the central corridor, where they can exercise or read the Bible. Food is delivered to them through the bars and does not include meat. Trump’s statements have generated mixed reactions, reigniting the international debate on human rights, extreme security policies, and the use of the prison system as a central tool in the fight against crime and irregular migration.