El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, better known as CECOT, was built to house people authorities identify as dangerous gang members. Its vast capacity, strict security regime and limited independent access have made the prison a focal point of international debate over mass incarceration and human rights.

But CECOT’s role in US immigration enforcement has brought a more complicated question into focus: could President Donald Trump legally send American citizens to serve prison sentences in El Salvador? A proposal discussed in 2025, subsequent deportations and continuing court proceedings have put the issue under scrutiny, while reports from human rights organisations have raised further questions about detention conditions.

What Is CECOT Prison in El Salvador?

The Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, translated as the Terrorism Confinement Center, is located in Tecoluca, in El Salvador’s San Vicente department. President Nayib Bukele’s government inaugurated the high-security facility in February 2023 as part of its campaign against criminal gangs, particularly Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, and Barrio 18.

The prison has a publicly announced capacity of up to 40,000 detainees. This is its stated capacity, rather than a verified figure for its current population.

CECOT was established amid a broader crackdown that followed the introduction of a state of emergency in March 2022. The emergency measures enabled large-scale arrests and altered important procedural protections for people detained under the policy.

The Salvadoran government has credited its security campaign with substantially reducing homicide rates. However, human rights organisations have raised concerns about arbitrary arrests, prolonged pretrial detention, inadequate legal representation and alleged abuse in the country’s prison system.

In its World Report 2026, Human Rights Watch highlighted concerns about the growth of El Salvador’s prison population, arrests allegedly based on insufficient evidence and deaths in custody. It also noted that restricted access to official crime data makes some government claims about crime trends difficult to evaluate independently.

The controversy surrounding CECOT therefore extends beyond the facility itself. It also involves the wider criminal justice system and the protections available to people detained under emergency powers.

Security Questions Inside a Maximum-Security Prison
CECOT has drawn attention to the security and oversight challenges associated with high-security detention facilities. A separate incident in Canada involved an unexpected delivery to a maximum-security prison, covered in our Quebec prison drone delivery report.

Inside CECOT: Security, Confinement and Reported Prison Conditions

CECOT operates under stringent security controls, including guarded perimeters, surveillance and strict restrictions on prisoners’ movements. Images and videos released by the Salvadoran government have shown large communal cells, metal bunk beds and inmates being moved under heavy guard.

However, the facility’s limited independent accessibility means official footage cannot establish the full conditions experienced by every detainee.

Restricted movement and access to daily activities

Human Rights Watch has described detainees spending most of their time confined to communal cells, with little opportunity for recreation or ordinary daily activities.

In a declaration concerning prison conditions in El Salvador, published on March 20, 2025, the organisation raised concerns about incommunicado detention, inadequate healthcare and food, and alleged mistreatment.

Later investigations into Venezuelan nationals transferred from the United States described prolonged separation from families and lawyers, alongside severe restrictions on daily life.

These findings reflect the organisation’s investigations and the accounts it collected. They do not establish that every prisoner has experienced identical conditions.

Allegations involving food, sanitation and healthcare

On November 12, 2025, Human Rights Watch and Cristosal published an 81-page report titled You Have Arrived in Hell: Torture and Other Abuses Against Venezuelans in El Salvador’s Mega Prison.

The investigation drew on interviews with former detainees, relatives, lawyers and acquaintances, as well as photographs, records and forensic assessments.

The report documented allegations of inadequate food, poor sanitation, limited access to healthcare and medicine, and a lack of recreational and educational activities. It also highlighted prolonged incommunicado detention and the difficulties families experienced when trying to obtain information about detained relatives.

What did investigators report about alleged abuse?

Human Rights Watch and Cristosal reported that Venezuelan men detained at CECOT experienced physical, verbal and psychological abuse by prison guards and riot police.

The report included allegations of beatings during cell searches, punishment for minor rule violations and sexual violence. The organisations concluded that the documented incidents reflected systematic violations rather than isolated misconduct by individual officers.

These are serious findings from a human rights investigation, not a determination that every detainee experienced the same treatment. Allegations, government responses and independently established findings in individual cases must remain distinct.

How CECOT Became Part of Trump’s Immigration Policy

The prison entered the centre of US political debate in February and March 2025, when American officials pursued an arrangement with El Salvador concerning people removed from the United States.

During a visit to Central America in February 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Bukele had offered to accept deportees of different nationalities, including people accused or convicted of serious crimes.

Bukele also publicly offered to accept convicted American citizens, subject to a payment arrangement. The proposal attracted attention because it raised a separate legal question: could the US government arrange for its own citizens to serve criminal sentences in a foreign prison?

Rubio described the arrangement as unprecedented. The administration subsequently transferred noncitizens to Salvadoran detention facilities, including CECOT.

What did Marco Rubio say about sending prisoners?

Rubio acknowledged Bukele’s offer to accept dangerous criminals already in US custody, including American citizens and legal residents.

In February 2025, Rubio said:

“We can send them and he will put them in his jails,”

He also described Bukele’s willingness to accept dangerous criminals serving sentences in the United States, including citizens and legal residents.

However, a public offer to accept prisoners did not establish that the US government possessed the legal authority to transfer American citizens to CECOT. Implementing such an arrangement would depend on applicable laws and constitutional protections.

The proposal must therefore be distinguished from an established programme. The available sources reviewed for this article do not establish that American citizens have already been transferred to CECOT under this arrangement.

Has the US Already Sent People to CECOT?

Yes. In March 2025, the United States transferred hundreds of people to El Salvador, including Venezuelan nationals who were subsequently detained at CECOT. Further transfers took place in April.

Human Rights Watch and Cristosal reported that 252 Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador in March and April 2025. Their November investigation documented allegations of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, other mistreatment and inadequate access to basic necessities.

According to the organisations, roughly half of the Venezuelans sent to CECOT had no criminal history, while only 3% had been convicted in the United States of a violent or potentially violent offence. These figures relate to the population examined in their investigation and should not be generalised to everyone detained at the facility.

The transfers triggered US court proceedings concerning the legal authority used to remove detainees, their opportunities to challenge removal and the government’s obligations when people were transferred to a foreign prison.

What happened to the Venezuelan detainees?

In July 2025, the 252 Venezuelans were transferred to Venezuela as part of a prisoner exchange. Human Rights Watch reported that the exchange involved the release of 10 US citizens or permanent residents held in Venezuela.

Their departure from CECOT did not resolve every legal question surrounding their original transfers. Litigation continued over the administration’s actions, its use of the Alien Enemies Act and the potential consequences of transfers carried out despite judicial challenges.

The controversy concerns both the conditions people experienced after arriving in El Salvador and whether the government had sufficient legal authority to remove particular individuals.

CECOT Legal Controversy Continues Into 2026

The debate continued into 2026, with new human rights concerns and ongoing litigation involving deportations to El Salvador.

On March 16, 2026, Human Rights Watch reported that Salvadoran nationals deported from the United States had been arbitrarily detained in El Salvador, with some effectively disappearing into the country’s prison system.

The organisation called on authorities to disclose their whereabouts and bring them before a judge. It highlighted the difficulties families faced when seeking information and reports of limited access to lawyers and relatives.

These findings broadened the debate beyond the Venezuelan nationals transferred to CECOT in 2025. They also raised questions about the treatment of Salvadoran citizens returned to their own country and the safeguards available when US deportations are followed by detention in El Salvador.

The report represents Human Rights Watch’s findings and assessment, rather than a judicial determination covering every Salvadoran deportee.

What happened in the US appeals court?

In June 2026, ABC News reported that the full US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit had agreed to hear arguments concerning an attempt to hold Trump administration officials in contempt over the deportations of Venezuelan nationals to CECOT.

The dispute followed earlier proceedings about whether the administration had complied with judicial orders concerning the transfers.

The appeals process concerned whether the contempt inquiry could proceed. It was not a ruling that American citizens could lawfully be sent to CECOT.

As of the latest developments located for this article, the appeals court’s September 29, 2026, hearing had been reported, but a subsequent final ruling could not be independently verified. The outcome should not be presented as settled without a current court record.

Can Donald Trump Legally Send American Citizens to CECOT?

The central distinction is between deporting a noncitizen under immigration law and transferring a US citizen abroad to serve a criminal sentence.

American citizens are not subject to deportation under the ordinary immigration-removal process. A person cannot lawfully be treated as a removable noncitizen simply because the government considers them dangerous or has reached an agreement with a foreign government.

Likewise, a criminal conviction does not automatically strip someone of US citizenship or grant the president unrestricted authority to send that person to a foreign prison.

Any proposed transfer would raise questions about the legal authority for the arrangement, the administration of the sentence, the role of US courts and the protections available to the prisoner. An international prisoner-transfer arrangement would need to comply with relevant domestic laws and legal safeguards.

Immigration removal, extradition, international prisoner transfers and enforcement of criminal sentences are separate legal processes. Their requirements cannot simply be treated as interchangeable because two governments agree to cooperate.

As of October 21, 2026, the available sources reviewed for this article do not establish that the United States has implemented a lawful programme to send American citizens to CECOT under the proposal announced in 2025. The public offer and political statements are not proof that such a programme exists.

What Did the US Supreme Court Say About Deportations to El Salvador?

The US Supreme Court considered challenges to the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act in 2025. These proceedings are relevant to the wider controversy over removals to El Salvador, but they did not establish a general power to send American citizens to foreign prisons.

In Trump v. J.G.G., decided on April 7, 2025, the Court addressed procedural questions involving Venezuelan nationals facing removal under the Alien Enemies Act. Its order concerned the procedures through which detainees could challenge their removal.

In A.A.R.P. v. Trump, on May 16, 2025, the Court addressed an application by Venezuelan detainees seeking protection from removal under the same law. The proceedings underscored the importance of notice and an opportunity to challenge government action.

Both cases must be understood within their specific legal context. They concerned noncitizens facing removal under a particular statute, not a general authorisation to transfer US citizens to CECOT.

The subsequent litigation over the 2025 deportations also demonstrates why executive authority, compliance with court orders and individual due-process rights remain separate legal questions.

Conclusion: What the CECOT Debate Means for US Immigration Policy

CECOT has become a focal point for international scrutiny because of its restrictive security regime, reported capacity of up to 40,000 detainees and allegations documented by human rights organisations.

The US–El Salvador arrangement has raised questions about detention conditions, legal procedures, accountability and the government’s authority to transfer noncitizens abroad. The proposal involving American citizens adds another layer of legal complexity, but it should not be confused with the documented transfers of Venezuelan nationals.

Ultimately, the existence of a diplomatic agreement or a public political offer does not, by itself, establish the legal authority to send US citizens to a foreign prison. The distinction between the proposed arrangement and the transfers that actually occurred remains central to understanding the CECOT controversy.

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Source and Research Disclaimer

This article has been prepared based on research into the sources listed below, including reporting and material from Human Rights Watch, Cristosal, ABC News, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and the US Supreme Court. It reflects the information available from those sources and preserves the distinction between documented events, reported findings, allegations and unresolved legal questions. It should not be taken as implying independent verification beyond what the supplied material supports. Legal proceedings and government policies may change as further decisions or official statements become available.

Sources

1. Human Rights Watch — World Report 2026: El Salvador
2. Human Rights Watch — US/El Salvador: Torture of Venezuelan Deportees, November 12, 2025
3. Human Rights Watch — You Have Arrived in Hell: Torture and Other Abuses Against Venezuelans in El Salvador’s Mega Prison
4. Human Rights Watch — US/El Salvador: Deportees Forcibly Disappeared, March 16, 2026
5. US Supreme Court — Trump v. J.G.G., April 7, 2025
6. US Supreme Court — A.A.R.P. v. Trump docket
7. ABC News — Appeals court to hear arguments over contempt inquiry into CECOT deportations, June 23, 2026
8. Associated Press — Reporting on the US–El Salvador deportation arrangement
9. Al Jazeera — Can Trump legally deport US citizens to El Salvador prisons?, April 16, 2025

Featured Image Credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons