Chilling footage showing detained migrants spelling out a signal with their bodies in fear of going to a notorious El Salvador prison has gone viral.
Over 250 alleged criminals have been deported to the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT), which has been a part of President Trump’s plan to enact mass deportations using a law last invoked during World War II.
This massive prison complex covers 410 acres and can hold up to 40,000 inmates, ranking it among the world’s largest by capacity, according to government data.
The facility is made up of eight vast blocks split into modules, where inmates are confined with 65 to 70 others for up to 23.5 hours a day, AFP reports.
The overcrowded cells contain little more than an open toilet, a cement basin, and stacked metal bunks, leaving inmates with barely any personal space.
Prisoners at CECOT are reportedly not allowed outdoors and can only exercise for 30 minutes a day within the prison’s corridors.
According to the New York Post, the facility also includes large dining areas, break rooms, a gym, and board games—but these amenities are reserved exclusively for the 2,000 guards stationed at the maximum-security prison.
It’s no wonder inmates are desperate to avoid being sent there. At the Bluebonnet immigrant detention center in Anson, Texas, detainees sent a chilling message about the threat of deportation to El Salvador.
When Reuters flew a drone over the facility, 31 men arranged themselves on the ground to form the letters ‘SOS’—a silent but powerful plea for help.
According to the outlet, dozens of Venezuelan detainees at the facility were told by immigration officers they could be deported for allegedly being linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
However, families of seven detainees told Reuters their loved ones have no ties to the gang.
One of those detainees, 19-year-old Jeferson Escalona—captured in the drone footage—spoke with Reuters by phone from inside Bluebonnet.
“They’re making false accusations about me,” he said. “I don’t belong to any gang. I fear for my life here. I want to go to Venezuela.”
In response, a spokesperson for Management and Training Corporation, which operates the facility, stated: “All detainees housed at Bluebonnet receive meals based on a menu approved by a certified dietitian, ensuring the recommended daily caloric intake is met.”
