Trump Shares El Salvador Mega-Prison Video, Links Deportation Policy to Crime Decline

United States President Donald Trump has shared a video of El Salvador’s notorious maximum-security prison, defending his administration’s deportation policy and linking it to what he described as record-low crime levels across the country.

Trump posted the video on X on Wednesday, portraying the facility as the destination for people his administration considers dangerous criminals.

“THIS IS WHERE WE SEND OUR KILLERS, DRUG DEALERS & THUGS. THIS IS WHY MURDER AND OTHER CRIMES IN AMERICA ARE AT RECORD LOWS,” Trump wrote alongside the video.

The facility, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, is a maximum-security prison located in Tecoluca, El Salvador. It has become a prominent symbol of the Central American country’s hardline approach to criminal gangs and mass incarceration.

Designed to accommodate up to 40,000 inmates, the prison has attracted international attention over its restrictive conditions. Reports indicate that individual cells can hold between 65 and 70 prisoners, raising concerns about overcrowding and the treatment of detainees.

Trump’s post comes amid his administration’s efforts to deport migrants it identifies as criminal threats, including sending some deportees to El Salvador under arrangements with the government of President Nayib Bukele.

The US president has repeatedly defended his administration’s immigration enforcement measures as part of efforts to improve public safety. In his latest post, he directly linked the deportation policy to declining crime, although the statement itself did not provide evidence establishing that the deportations caused the reported decline.

The video has renewed attention on the use of El Salvador’s prison system in US immigration enforcement and the broader debate over deportation, public safety, due process and the treatment of people held in high-security facilities