Fascinating and horrifying secrets of El Salvador mega-prison for gangs credited with slashing murders by 70%

Dramatic footage has emerged from inside El Salvador’s mega-prison for gang members, showing the concrete confinement cell and impenetrable security.

In the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in Tecoluca are 40,000 of the most dangerous men in the world. They will never be released. They have all been convicted of at least one murder.

And now YouTuber Nick Shirley offers one of the most in-depth insights into the prison interior to date.

He is also given a tour of the isolation cell, a narrow cell consisting only of a raised concrete platform used as a bed, next to a rudimentary toilet.

There is no mattress on the bed and if you are alone, you are not given sheets to crawl under.

The prisoners can wash themselves in a sink with cold water. Natural light enters through a small round hole in the thick concrete ceiling.

“We haven’t had any escape attempts or any disorder in the prison so far,” a security guard told YouTube content creator Nick Shirley as he displayed a massive hidden arsenal of weapons designed to combat rioters.

Shirley also offered a first-hand look at the steps prison officials have taken to quell riots. A massive room filled with dozens of assault rifles sits in the prison, ready to be deployed in the event of future unrest.

Inside footage shows topless and heavily tattooed prisoners lined up under the watchful eye of heavily armed guards at the facility, which is a key part of a concerted effort to reduce El Salvador’s murder rate.

The Central American country’s murder rate fell by 70 percent last year as authorities led by President Nayib Bukele took a tougher approach to criminals both inside and outside prisons.

“We haven’t had any escape attempts or any disorder in the prison so far,” a security guard told YouTube content creator Nick Shirley as he showed off a massive hidden arsenal of weapons designed to thwart rioters.

The Center for the Detention of Terrorism (CECOT) in Tecoluca houses 40,000 of the most dangerous men in the world who will never be released – each with at least one conviction for murder

Dramatic footage has emerged from inside El Salvador’s mega-prison for gang members, showing the concrete confinement cell and impenetrable security details

The guard also shows off ankle chains and handcuffs used to tie up the 40,000 prisoners in case they were moved between the eight football-field-sized buildings on the grounds.

CECOT is a high-security fortress with 24/7 artificial light and prisoners allowed out of their cells for only 30 minutes a day. They are forced to eat with their hands, as knives and forks are considered potential weapons.

Guards told Shirley that prisoners are not allowed to have any contact with the outside world because the building is a cell phone black hole.

They are largely stripped of their clothing and privacy, as even the toilets are placed in full view of dozens of prisoners.

Shirley’s video shows MS-13 gang members involved in murders, kidnappings and drug crimes doing exercises using only their own body weight because they are afraid they will hit each other with barbells.

Life outside the cell isn’t much better, as prisoners are forced to eat a diet devoid of meat or vegetables. Guards told Shirley that most meals consist of nothing more than beans and tortillas with cheese or cream.

The prisoners are forced to sleep close together. Each of them sleeps in their own bed. This bed consists of nothing more than a metal plate on a four-tier bunk bed.

Inside images show topless and heavily tattooed inmates under the watchful eye of heavily armed guards at the facility that is a key part of a concerted effort to reduce El Salvador’s murder rate.

The Center for the Detention of Terrorism (CECOT) in Tecoluca houses 40,000 of the most dangerous men in the world who will never be released – each with at least one conviction for murder

The prisoners are forced to sleep close together, each taking a bed, which is merely a metal sheet on a four-tier bunk bed

In each 100-square-meter cell, the notoriously dangerous prisoners are forced to share just two toilets and two sinks

Charities have criticised the CECOT complex, calling it a ‘black hole of human rights’

In each 100-square-meter cell, the notoriously dangerous prisoners have to share just two toilets and two sinks.

They are given a short period of 30 minutes to practice, using only their own body weight, as they are afraid of hitting each other or the guards with dumbbells or barbells.

No one who enters CECOT has ever come out. Prisoners go through a full-body scanner, so it is impossible to smuggle anything in, and once inside, they are watched over by guards on 27 watchtowers.

Escape is impossible thanks to two layers of 27-foot walls topped with an additional nine feet of 15-bolt electric fencing. Below that, the ground is made of rough gravel, so the slightest movement would make a noise.

Charities have criticised the facility, calling it a “black hole of human rights”, while UN officials describe it as a “pit of concrete and steel” built to kill prisoners without applying the death penalty.

Critics argue that some of the men in prison are innocent and were involved in a broader crackdown on gangs.

Still, the measures remain popular among locals, who are relieved that their streets are finally much safer.

According to Bloomberg, El Salvador has three times as many people in prison as the United States. By the end of 2023, 1.6 percent of its 6.3 million citizens will be behind bars.