Terrorism Confinement Center
Prison in El Salvador / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Terrorism Confinement Center (Spanish: Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, abbreviated and commonly referred to as CECOT) is a maximum security prison located in Tecoluca, El Salvador. The prison was built from July 2022 to January 2023 amidst a large-scale gang crackdown in El Salvador. CECOT was opened by the Salvadoran government in January 2023 and received its first 2,000 prisoners in February 2023.
Location | Tecoluca, San Vicente, El Salvador |
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Coordinates | 13°31′58.76″N 88°48′14.40″W |
Status | Operational |
Security class | Maximum security |
Capacity | 40,000 |
Population | 12,500+ (as of 9 July 2023) |
Opened | 31 January 2023; 15 months ago (2023-01-31) |
Managed by | Ministry of Justice and Public Security |
As of 9 July 2023[update], CECOT has a population of over 12,500 inmates.[1] With capacity for 40,000 inmates, it is the largest prison in Latin America. CECOT–as well as the gang crackdown as a whole–have been the subject of international media attention, receiving praise for the Salvadoran government as well as criticism of alleged human rights violations.[2]