‘All will die in this prison… it’s a living death’: Richard Madeley is given rare access to El Salvador’s brutal mega-jail as he comes face to face with mass murdering gang members
Richard Madeley has visited the world’s toughest prison in El Salvador where 3,000 shaven-headed inmates are packed behind floor-to-ceiling bars with nothing to do.
The broadcaster spent time inside the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), where suspected gang members sit in metal bunks stacked four beds high in concrete cells.
The facility has become the cornerstone of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s war on drug cartels and key to deportations from the US under President Donald Trump.
Prisoners wear only boxer shorts with their heads shaved, lights are never switched off and there are no family visits, recreational spaces or rehabilitation programmes.
Now, Good Morning Britain host Madeley has received rare access to the £85million jail in Tecoluca for the new Channel 5 documentary ‘Inside the World’s Mega Prison’.
He said: ‘Nothing absolutely nothing, can prepare you for the sight of 3,000 shaven-headed men crammed behind floor-to-ceiling bars. No doors. No screening.
‘They sit there in permanently open view through the bars, on tiers of metal bunks four-high – no mattresses, just thin cotton sheets – staring out. It’s one hell of a sight.
Madeley said the men have ‘absolutely nothing whatsoever to do’ while sat in their cells, given they are not allowed books, magazines, newspapers or screens. There are no workshops, libraries, opportunities to learn kitchen skills and no visitors.
Richard Madeley inside the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) in Tecoluca, El Salvador
3,000 shaven-headed inmates are crammed behind floor-to-ceiling bars with nothing to do
Prisoners wear only boxer shorts with their heads shaved and lights are never switched off
Suspected gang members sit in metal bunks stacked four beds high in concrete cells
There are no family visits, no recreational spaces and no rehabilitation programmes at the jail
He added: ‘All meals must be taken in their cells, inside which they spend 23 and a half hours every day, with just 30 minutes outside for brief, heavily-guarded exercise.
‘They just sit on their bunks, day in, day out, and the prison lights stay on 24/7, never dimmed. All will die in this prison. It’s a living death.’
He added that he was shown a graphic video the gangsters had made and posted online to terrorise the population, showing mass machete executions of helpless road workers.
As part of the documentary which airs next Wednesday at 9pm, Madeley talked to the guards responsible for running the jail and later explained how it was ‘tricky’ to build a relationship with prison authorities.
He said: ‘I had to convince them we were visiting Cecot with completely open minds, but my questions about the harshness of conditions there nearly got us thrown out on day one.
‘Fortunately, I managed to persuade them of the truth – I was there to report without fear or favour, or agenda. And my thoughts about Cecot most definitely changed the longer I was in El Salvador and the more I learned about what the gangsters imprisoned there had done to ordinary people.
‘These criminals were without doubt sadistic, psychotic, psychopathic murderers and rapists.’
Madeley also visited the tough urban areas where the gangs still exist to learn more about the impact of Cecot – and said he ‘could not find a single person who wasn’t overjoyed that the gangsters who brutally controlled every aspect of life in El Salvador are now permanently behind bars’.
He revealed how about 80 per cent of the gangs that used to control El Salvador are now off the country’s streets and are either in Cecot or have fled abroad to Mexico or Venezuela – but there are ‘remnants’ in the towns where they once operated.
Madeley said: ‘Although it’s not remotely as dangerous as a few years ago, you have to watch your back and keep moving. Walls riddled with bullet holes where once men were lined up and shot on a daily basis are a useful reminder to stay on your toes.’
Good Morning Britain host Madeley has received rare access to the maximum-security jail
An inmate receives a medical examination at the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot)
The maximum-security jail in Tecoluca is shown in the new Channel 5 television documentary
‘Richard Madeley: Inside the World’s Mega Prison’ airs on Channel 5 next Wednesday
Able to hold 40,000 inmates, Cecot is made up of eight sprawling pavilions in Tecoluca
Some campaigners have spoken out against conditions at Cecot, and Madeley admitted there was ‘no question’ Cecot breaches human rights.
But he added: ‘The more difficult question is whether El Salvador had any alternative if it wanted to wrest control back from the psychopaths who had terrorised the general population for decades.
‘And Cecot certainly demonstrates that however you choose to run your jails, whatever the rules and protocols you decide are appropriate, you can enforce them. You just need the will – and the leadership – to do it.’
The presenter also considered whether there were any lessons from El Salvador which could be applied to the UK’s beleaguered prison system.
The UK Government launched an emergency early release scheme in September 2024, days after the jail population reached a record high of 88,521.
And Madeley said: ‘I think Cecot is probably a unique, brutally bespoke solution to the horrors that plagued ordinary El Salvadorians for so long. But I do believe there are lessons we can learn and apply to repair our own broken prison system.
‘Namely, that once you’ve agreed on the level of security and punishment and deterrence you want from it, you can achieve consistent results. You just need the application and determination to do it.’
Madeley also talked to the inmates living under one of the strictest prison regimes in the world, made famous by photographs of the hundreds of tattooed inmates sitting cross-legged on prison landings.
The 57-acre facility was built to hold up to 40,000 prisoners and currently houses an estimated 15,000 inmates. Many are suspected members of rival gangs that terrorised the country for decades, alongside convicted murderers and rapists.
Mr Bukele ordered the mega-prison to built in March 2022 as part of his campaign against El Salvador´s gangs, and it opened a year later.
Able to hold 40,000 inmates, Cecot is made up of eight sprawling pavilions. Its cells hold 65 to 70 prisoners each and none of them receive visits.
There are no programmes preparing them to return to society after their sentences and no workshops or educational programs. They are never allowed outside.
The exceptions are occasional motivational talks from prisoners who have gained a level of trust from prison officials. Prisoners sit in rows in the corridor outside their cells for the talks or are led through exercise regimens under the supervision of guards.
The 57-acre facility was built to hold up to 40,000 prisoners and opened in 2023
Many inmates are suspected members of rival gangs that terrorised the country for decades
There are no programmes preparing the inmates to return to society after their sentences
Madeley gained access to the prison following ‘months of negotiation’, according to producers
Madeley speaks to one of the prisoners inside the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot)
The prison’s dining halls, break rooms, gym and board games are for guards.
Until recently, El Salvador had the highest murder rate in the world, with 106 homicides per 100,000 people as it was plagued by brutal gang violence which regularly featured extortion, kidnapping, murder, human trafficking and drug smuggling.
But following Mr Bukele’s election in 2019, his government launched a major security crackdown that has seen tens of thousands of suspected gang members detained – and a claimed huge reduction in the murder rate.
This has attracted praise from Mr Trump – whose government struck a deal with Mr Bukele to accept what they described as transfer and imprisonment of foreign criminals to El Salvador.
Last week, official figures revealed the number of people deported to El Salvador from the US nearly doubled in the first months of 2026.
The US deported 5,033 Salvadorans back to their country in the first three months of 2026 compared with 2,547 deportees in the same period in 2025.
The government of El Salvador – where 2 per cent of the population are now in prison – says gang violence is responsible for 200,000 deaths over the past three decades.
Andy Dunn, senior executive producer for ITN Productions, said: ‘Gaining access to Cecot, the most secretive and notorious prison in the world, took months of negotiation.
‘It was really important for Richard to experience the extreme conditions there first hand and he takes us on a compelling and unique journey as he considers the effectiveness and ethics of such a harsh regime.’
Guy Davies, consultant editor for commissioning at Channel 5, added: ‘This access to Cecot was a tantalising prospect.
‘Richard is at heart a first-class popular journalist and we were thrilled to get the chance for him to serve some time there. I think viewers will be very surprised by the results.’
