A History of El Salvador and the Implications of CECOT

Recent events concerning mistakenly deported immigrant, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, have propelled the El Salvadoran mega-prison known as Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo or CECOT into the spotlight. The Terrorism Confinement Center has been active since 2022, though it was built in response to decades of gang activity in El Salvador and neighboring South American countries. Under the new administration in the United States, President Trump has fostered a relationship with El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, turning the CECOT into a deportation center for American immigrants. This action, along with publicity on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s situation in particular, has sparked controversy on American immigration policy and the criminal justice system in both the United States and El Salvador. The detainment policy in both countries has been proven to be effective, but with dangerous implications that must be reconciled in order to maintain just structures of democracy and adhere to fundamental human rights.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was living in Maryland for six years after emigrating from El Salvador. On March 12, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested him after his shift at work, with his son in the car. Department of Homeland Security Agents told his wife, Vásquez Sura, that Abrego Garcia’s immigration status had changed despite a 2019 court ruling protecting him from deportation due to death threats against his family. Since Abrego Garcia’s arrest, the Maryland District court has made efforts to retrieve him. Furthermore, Maryland Senator Chris Van Holland visited the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador to speak with Abrego Garcia. Most efforts have been met with resistance. When Van Holland attempted to enter the prison, he was ordered to return to his hotel in San Salvador where Abrego Garcia would later be delivered so they could speak. Kilmar Abrego Garcia has still not been able to return home despite the government admitting his deportation was a mistake.

The basis of the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia ties to the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which was invoked by the Trump Administration in response to activities from a Venezuelan criminal network, Tren De Aragua. According to Human Rights Watch, “Since March the act has been used to arrest and transfer at least 137 men to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.” State courts have ruled that Trump’s attempts at deportation lack due process and lack of evidence. Many people have been detained for as little as having a tattoo, apparently signifying gang affiliation, even if the tattoo has no meaning of the sort. This is where the system for arresting alleged gang members becomes dangerous as the lack of due process becomes evident, leading to potentially catastrophic implications for the criminal justice system.

El Salvador’s History

To understand the development of the CECOT, it is important to look back at the historical context in El Salvador. The country has experienced decades of chaos after a coup d'etat in 1931. The US supported El Salvador, after being allies in WWII, with the combat against communist forces in the 1980s. In the 1990s, MS-13 and 18th Street gangs, also known as The Maras, spread into El Salvador after being deported from the US. The 18th Street and MS-13 gangs trace their roots to LA when massive groups of Salvadorans fled to the United States. After being deported, these gangs spread throughout El Salvador leaving the country in shambles by committing brutal and extreme crimes. Some have gone so far as to label these gangs as terrorist groups but this title is not universally accepted. Nayib Bukele took over the presidency in El Salvador in June 2019 and murder rates dropped. The government and the gangs seemed to reach an agreement or “quid pro quo” as gangs were supporting Bukele’s “Nuevas Ideas” campaign. However, tensions were rising once again between the Maras and the government by the end of 2021. On March 26, 2022, what the International Crisis Group describes as, “the most lethal day in the country’s recent history,” MS-13 killed 62 people in 24 hours. As a response, Bukele imposed a state of exception, increasing the allowed period of detention to 15 days, restricting freedom of assembly, and restricting the right to defense in court. The International Crisis Group states that “as of 20 September [2022], the government claimed to have detained over 53,000 gang members and collaborators.” Human rights groups now say that around 85,000 people have been detained (Correal, 2025). The issue with this state of exception is the lack of rights being upheld for the accused. Officers had to meet a daily arrest quota, often arresting people based on false accusations made for a reward.

Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo

Opinions on Bukele’s initiative remain controversial; many in El Salvador are grateful for the relief from the plague of extreme gang violence that had spread throughout the country, while others live in fear of being wrongfully accused or now have to carry the burden of losing family members who were the main providers. The relationship between El Salvador and the United States also became unstable due to human rights concerns until the Trump administration began. CECOT has been criticized for a lack of transparency and being isolated to the point where it is difficult to discern what exactly is actually happening on the inside. Interviews administered by the International Crisis Group towards former detainees “reveal a pattern of ill treatment and harsh conditions.”  Additionally, as evident by the situation with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, it is extremely difficult to reconcile mistakes made by governments in making arrests. The International Crisis Group states that “the Trump administration has provided no evidence that any of them has committed a crime or belonged to Tren de Aragua” and “the Bukele administration had acknowledged that at least 20 percent of the Venezuelans at CECOT are not members of Tren de Aragua.” An egregious infringement on due process rights is occurring under the guise of concern for national security, particularly in the United States.

In the context of the history of discrimination and controversy over immigration in the United States, the question arises of what the goal of the Trump administration is with this new immigration policy, especially considering the lack of evidence presented against deportees. There is more evidence towards the necessity of the CECOT in El Salvador, as it has been effective in reducing gang activity in the country. However both countries have demonstrated an inadequate level of due process towards the accused, setting a dangerous precedent for criminal justice. The CECOT should be more transparent with its inner-workings, the United States should have a higher standard of evidence for deporting immigrants, and El Salvador should have a higher standard of evidence for making arrests. This would account for some of the potential human rights concerns surrounding the prison and the process of detainment. Addressing these concerns is necessary to uphold civil liberties and principles of democracy.

Last edited June 8, 2025

References

Correal, A. (2025, April 18). Inside El Salvador’s CECOT Prison, Where Abrego Garcia Was Held. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/world/americas/bukele-abrego-garcia-elsalvador-prison.html

Group, I. C. (2022). From Security Miracle to State of Exception. In A Remedy for El Salvador?s Prison Fever (p. Page 4-Page 15). International Crisis Group; JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/resrep43552.5

Kumar, A. (2025, May 7). Alien Enemies Act Doesn’t Belong on the Books in 2025. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/07/alien-enemies-act-doesnt-belong-books-2025

Park, H. (2025, April 8). Cronología de la batalla legal por la deportación errónea de Kilmar Ábrego a El Salvador. CNN; CNN en Español. https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2025/04/08/eeuu/cronologia-deportacion-kilmar-abrego-el-salvador-trax

Rodriguez,. (2024). Bukele’s Formula for Terrorism. Journal of Strategic Security, 17(1), 76–99. JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/48766108

Unpacking the Use of U.S. Wartime Powers against a Criminal “Invasion” | Crisis Group. (2025, March 26). Crisisgroup.org. https://www.crisisgroup.org/global-united-states-el-salvador-venezuela/unpacking-use-us-wartime-powers-against-criminal-invasion