Bukele Pushes Back After Claims About El Salvador’s Mega-Prison

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele pushed back against claims made by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding conditions inside the country’s high-security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), the prison that has recently held migrants deported from the United States.

Bukele’s response came after Clinton shared a post on X that included an 11-minute excerpt from a documentary titled “Surviving CECOT.” In her post, Clinton encouraged viewers to learn more about the prison and highlighted testimonies from three men who described their experiences after being deported to El Salvador.

“Curious to learn more about CECOT?” Clinton wrote. “Hear Juan, Andry, and Wilmer share firsthand how the Trump administration labeled them as gang members without evidence and sent them to El Salvador’s brutal prison.”

The documentary focuses on three Venezuelan nationals — Juan José Ramos Ramos, Andry Blanco Bonilla, and Wilmer Vega Sandia — who were deported by the Trump administration to CECOT. According to the film’s description, the men say they were falsely identified by U.S. authorities as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, allegations they strongly deny.

In his reply, Bukele said El Salvador was open to cooperation if Clinton or others believe abuses have taken place within the prison, which houses both convicted gang members and migrants deported from the U.S.

“We are prepared to release our entire prison population — including gang leaders and those labeled ‘political prisoners’ — to any country willing to take them,” Bukele wrote. “The only requirement is that it must be everyone.”

He added that such a move would also benefit journalists and non-governmental organizations by giving them access to thousands of former inmates, making it easier to gather testimony critical of the Salvadoran government.

“If these accounts truly reflect a widespread reality,” Bukele said, “a much larger group of sources should strengthen the claim, and many governments should be eager to offer protection.”

Until such offers materialize, Bukele stated that El Salvador will continue focusing on protecting the rights and safety of millions of Salvadorans who now live without the control of violent gangs.

Bukele has maintained a close working relationship with President Donald Trump, including an agreement allowing El Salvador to hold certain migrants deported from the United States at CECOT. The U.S. has sent Venezuelan migrants accused of gang involvement to El Salvador after Venezuela declined to accept their return.