The Centre for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in Tecoluca is home to 40,000 of the world's most dangerous men who will never be released - each one with at least one homicide conviction.
And now YouTuber Nick Shirley has offered one of the most in-depth looks at the prison's interior yet.
He also takes a tour of the solitary confinement chamber, a narrow cell comprising only a raised concrete platform used as a bed alongside a rudimentary toilet basin.
There is no mattress on the bed and anyone finding themselves in a solitary is not given any sheets to slip on.
A sink is filled with cold water for inmates to wash on - and natural light comes from a small round hole drilled into the thick concrete ceiling.
Footage from the inside shows topless and heavily tattooed inmates lined up under the watchful eye of heavily-armed guards at the institution which has been a key part of a concerted effort to drive down El Salvador's murder rate.
The number of homicides in the Central America nation dropped 70 percent last year as authorities under the leadership of President Nayib Bukele cracked down on criminals both inside and outside the jail.
'As of right now we have not had one attempt to escape or disorder inside the prison,' a security guard told YouTube content creator Nick Shirley as he displayed a enormous hidden armory designed to deal with rioters.
Related:
El Salvador: 2024-07-27 Karachi named as world's second riskiest city in Forbes' list
El Salvador: 2024-07-23 U.S. ‘Should Disappear'
El Salvador: 2024-07-14 Argentina brands Hamas a terror group, citing October 7 and its close ties to Iran
El Salvador: 2024-07-27 Karachi named as world's second riskiest city in Forbes' list
El Salvador: 2024-07-23 U.S. ‘Should Disappear'
El Salvador: 2024-07-14 Argentina brands Hamas a terror group, citing October 7 and its close ties to Iran
Related:
CECOT: 2023-06-01 At least 153 of the prisoners rounded up in El Salvador's notorious 'war on gangs' and shipped to huge new prisons without trial are now DEAD, human rights group warns
CECOT: 2023-02-25 Mega-prison in El Salvador for 40,000 suspected gangsters – which has only 80 beds for every 100 inmates - welcomes its first new inmates with vow 'You will never walk out of here'
CECOT: 2023-06-01 At least 153 of the prisoners rounded up in El Salvador's notorious 'war on gangs' and shipped to huge new prisons without trial are now DEAD, human rights group warns
CECOT: 2023-02-25 Mega-prison in El Salvador for 40,000 suspected gangsters – which has only 80 beds for every 100 inmates - welcomes its first new inmates with vow 'You will never walk out of here'
