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El Salvador · San Vicente Department · Tecoluca

Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT)

Mega-prisonMaximummaleUnder capacity (36%)ModerateHigh
Verified · Data dated
Aging · 5mo ago
Sources last reviewed on · data-as-of

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT)

Step-by-step guidance using the El Salvador system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

Open toolkit

Inaugurated January 2023 — the largest prison in the Americas by design capacity. Built to hold alleged gang members detained under the post-2022 State of Exception.

Capacity

40,000

Current population

14,500

Occupancy

36%

Year opened

2023

Operational

Figures from official sources · verified 20 May 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Population held

male

Opened

2023

Region

San Vicente Department

Security level

Maximum

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

Eight pavilions of cages holding up to 100 inmates each. Lights on 24 hours; no outdoor recreation. Two daily meals eaten without utensils.

Visiting

No visits permitted. Inmates have no contact with family members. No legal visits reported for general population.

Mailing

No incoming or outgoing mail permitted.

Practical info

Government does not publish inmate registry; families typically locate detainees via the National Civil Police inquiry system.

Known issues

Human rights groups document deaths in custody and lack of due process. No independent monitoring access granted since 2023 opening.

Notable inmates

Alleged senior MS-13 and Barrio 18 members; specific names not publicly disclosed.

Contact & address

Cantón San Juan Buenavista, Tecoluca

No public contact details available.

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

34/100
Moderate concern34/100
Overcrowding
0/30
Oversight reports
24/30
Structural flags
5/15
Death signals
5/15
Conditions text
0/10

What the score is responding to:

  • · 2 oversight reports in the last 5 years
  • · Substantial documented known-issues record
  • · In-custody-death signal in sources

This facility scores 34. The national average across 34 scored El Salvador facilities is 44 — 10 points below national average.

Trend over time

Population and occupancy by year. Source: official corrections statistics + oversight reports.

Population held

2023: 3,000+383.3%2024: 14,500

Occupancy %

2023: 7.5%+380.0%2024: 36.0%

Related facilities

All in El Salvador →

Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.

Compared to other facilities in El Salvador

33 peers
Conditions risk scorethis: 34/100 · peers avg: 54/100 (37%)

Higher risk than 0% of peer facilities in El Salvador.

Occupancythis: 36% · peers avg: 635% (94%)
Capacity (beds)this: 40000 · peers avg: 3413 (+1072%)

Reports

  • Cristosal — One Year of Exception22 Apr 2024

    Documents 235 deaths in custody during the State of Exception across El Salvador's prison system; no families have been informed of cause of death or location of remains.

    source

  • Human Rights Watch4 Apr 2023

    Conditions inside CECOT, based on government-released video, satisfy the definition of incommunicado detention. No legal access, no family contact, no daylight in cells.

    source

Data completeness

92%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

APA
World Prisons. (2026). Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/cecot
Chicago
"Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT)." World Prisons. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/cecot.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-cecot,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT)},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/cecot},
  urldate = {2026-10-15}
}