Bukele ordered the mega-prison built as he began his campaign against El Salvador’s gangs in March 2022. It opened a year later in the town of Tecoluca, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of the capital. The facility has eight sprawling pavilions and can hold up to 40,000 inmates. Each cell can fit 65 to 70 prisoners.

El Salvador’s Cecot mega-prison was notorious long before the Trump administration’s recent decision to deport hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members there.