Inside the world’s deadliest prison, where the director has described conditions as ‘hell’, the lights are never switched off.
Formerly known as the ‘murder capital of the world‘, El Salvador is now home to the world’s largest prison, where up to 40,000 of the most dangerous criminals are being held under brutal conditions – many of which, critics suggest, violate international human rights standards.
The prison, which is the size of 32 soccer pitches, is protected by an electronic dome, meaning that while it’s ‘impossible for anything to be smuggled in’, cell phone signal is also completely blocked inside the facility.
A new Channel 5 documentary exploring inside CECOT, officially known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, sheds light on the conditions that inmates are subject to, including a concrete hole that prisoners may be locked in for up to 30 days for stepping out of line.
CECOT is home to 40,000 of the most deadly criminals. (John Moore/Getty Images)
During the documentary, titled Richard Madeley on Murder Row, the prison director, Belarmino García, revealed that the lights have never been switched off in the facility – and never will be.
He said: “We have a 24/7 lighting system.
“It’s simply part of the protocol, I need to be able to see what they are doing.”
Director García further noted that inmates sleep on multi-level metal beds, without a mattress, pillow, or covers.
The only item allowed inside the cells is a Bible – beyond that, inmates are not allowed screens, books, or newspapers, and talking must be kept to a minimum.
When British TV presenter Madeley asks García if he considers the conditions ‘cruel’, he said: “It’s necessary to be in control.”
Madleley is also shown the isolation cell where prisoners are sent if they cause trouble, described as ‘a tiny pitch black concrete hole’.
Richard Madeley in the isolation cell (Channel 5)
He says: “Difficult gangster prisoners here can be banged up here for 30 days.
“It’s totally silent. There is no light coming down from the roof.
“You’d have to grope your way to the stone sink here, you’d have to grope your way to the toilet.”
CECOT was built as part of President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on gang violence in 2023, and primarily holds alleged gang members and some of El Salvador’s most dangerous criminals, including members of MS-13 and Barrio 18.
Inmates are serving consecutive sentences of more than 700 years. (Marvin RECINOS / AFP via Getty Images)
One inmate admitted during an interview that he had ‘no regrets’ about killing 30 innocent people, and would do the same again if he were to be let out.
But he will never be freed from the prison, where many of the inmates hold consecutive sentences of more than 700 years.
The prisoners are counted daily despite rigorous security, and are kept in the cells for 23 and a half hours of the day.
The criminals eat the same meal twice every day. (John Moore/Getty Images)
During the 30 minutes they are allowed out, they practice calisthenics, and are read passages from the bible.
And as far as meal times are concerned, the criminals are served the same meal twice a day, every day – beans and rice.
Richard Madeley on Murder Row is now available to stream on Channel 5.
Featured Image Credit: Marvin RECINOS / AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Crime, Documentaries, True crime, Film and TV
Mia Williams
Director of world’s most dangerous prison reveals the only item inmates are allowed in their cells
Inside the world’s deadliest prison where the lights are never switched off, inmates are only allowed one item in their cell, with many serving sentences of over 700 years.
CECOT prison in El Salvador is home to 40,000 of the most dangerous criminals in the whole world, many of them killers.
One inmate admitted during an interview that he had killed 30 people and felt ‘no remorse’, further adding that he would do the same if he was ever to be let out – which of course, he will not.
Inmates are housed in cells holding 80 to 156 people at a time, each sleeping on multi-level metal beds, without a mattress, pillow, or covers.
The prison is the size of 32 soccer pitches, making it the largest in the world.
And while it houses some of the most vicious and violent gang members in history, not a single one steps out of line – ever.
Inmates are serving consecutive sentences of more than 700 years. (Oscar RIVERA / AFP via Getty Images)
Thats’s according to prison director Belarmino García, who sends inmates to be locked in a concrete hole with zero light for up to 30 days, if they even dare to think about breaking the extreme rules.
The only item allowed inside the cells is a bible – beyond that, inmates are not allowed screens, books, newspapers, or anything to keep them occupied, and talking must be kept to a minimum.
A new Channel 5 documentary exploring inside CECOT, officially known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, sheds light on the conditions that inmates are subject to – many of which, critics suggest, violate international human rights standards.
The documentary, titled Richard Madeley on Murder Row, sheds light on the prisoners’ daily regime, with inmates spending 23 and a half hours a day inside their cells – just half an hour allocated for exercise.
The prison was built in 2023. (Oscar RIVERA / AFP via Getty Images)
Director García also noted that lights remain switched on 24/7 in the facility, to ensure that he’s always able to ‘see what they are doing’.
CECOT was built as part of President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on gang violence in 2023, and primarily holds alleged gang members of MS-13 and Barrio 18.
The gang members have specific tattoos, and García claimed that simply having the identifiable design inked on your body can land you in CECOT for the rest of your life.
García himself has described the prison as ‘hell’, where inmates are subject to eating the same meal twice everyday – beans and rice.
Richard Madeley on Murder Row is now available to stream on Channel 5.
Featured Image Credit: Oscar RIVERA / AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Crime, Film and TV, Documentaries, True crime
Mia Williams
Director of Netflix doc reveals what she really thinks of mom who anonymously bullied her teen daughter online for a year
Follow us on Google DiscoverThe director of Unknown Number: The High School Catfish has shared her thoughts on the mom who bullied her own daughter.
The documentary landed on Netflix on August 29 and has garnered worldwide attention, having already racked up 13,600,000 views on the streaming platform, per FilxPatrol.
The programme looks at Lauryn Licari and her former boyfriend who were harassed online for 12 months by an unknown number.
The authorities got involved in the case and discovered who it was who had been giving Lauryn abuse online — her own mother.
The FBI traced the IP addresses of the messages back to her mom Kendra Licari, despite the fact she’d used virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide her location.
Ultimately, Kendra was arrested and charged with multiple counts of stalking and using a computer to commit a crime.
Kendra Licari was arrested in December 2022 (Isabella County Jail)
Now, the director of the doc, Skye Borgman has shared her own thoughts on Kendra and if what she said in the documentary who was truthful or not.
Kendra was interviewed for five hours as part of the show.
Borgman told PEOPLE: “I think it was important to me to get Kendra’s perspective out there, and it was more important to get the kids’ perspective out there, but to hear from her and to hear what her answers are was something that I felt was really beneficial to the documentary.
“Weighing whether or not those things are true or not, I can’t really judge that 100 per cent.”
See the Unknown Number trailer here:
Apparently, Kendra repeated herself a lot in the hours-long interview and not everything she said made it into the final cut.
“I felt like the clearest answers that she gave to things were what eventually made it into the documentary,” Borgman said of the edits she chose to include of Kendra’s interview.
All in all, Borgman doesn’t think Kendra really knows why she did what she did.
Speaking on the You Can’t Make This Up podcast per TUDUM, Borgman shared: “I don’t know that she really knows why she did it.”
The cops raided the Licari’s home, where it was revealed that Kendra was behind the messages (Netflix)
She added: “[Kendra] does mention in the documentary an assault that happened [to her] when she was right around Lauryn’s age.
“She talks about how scary that was for her to see her only child, her little girl, growing up, and that’s what she really relates to and that’s what she believes led her to sending these text messages and trying to keep Lauryn close.”