El Salvador

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Smoke and fire rises from the Gath shelter, housing displaced Palestinians, after an Israeli air strike in the west of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip
Smoke and fire engulf the Gath shelter for displaced Palestinians during an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on January 31, 2026. According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, Israeli air strikes that day killed 11 people across the territory, including Palestinians seeking refuge in a tent in the southern region. [Bashar Taleb/AFP]
Jammu and Kashmir Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel question local residents during a house-to-house search operation as part of heightened security measures ahead of India's Republic Day in Srinagar
Jammu and Kashmir Special Operations Group personnel interrogate local residents during door-to-door searches before India's Republic Day celebrations in Srinagar in India-administered Kashmir. [Mukhtar Khan/AP Photo]
Farmers march with their tractors during a protest against the EU-Mercosur trade deal and the economic pressures facing the agricultural sector in Valladolid
Farmers march through Valladolid, Spain, accompanied by tractors to protest the EU-Mercosur trade deal and mounting economic challenges confronting the agricultural sector. [Cesar Manso/AFP]
Afghans watch from a hilltop as horsemen compete during 'Buzkashi', a traditional Central Asian sport in the Jurm district of Badakhshan province
Afghan men find an elevated vantage point to watch horsemen vie in Buzkashi, a traditional Central Asian sport, in the Jurm district of Badakhshan province, Afghanistan. [Omer Abrar/AFP]
An aerial picture shows a landslide at Pasirlangu village in Cisarua, Bandung, West Java
A landslide in Pasirlangu village in Cisarua district of Indonesia's West Java province killed 16 people, and about 80 people remain missing. [Timur Matahari/AFP]
Inmates remain in a cell during a visit by Chile’s president-elect Jose Antonio Kast (out of frame) to the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison, where hundreds of MS-13 and 18th Street gang members are being held, in Tecoluca, El Salvador
Inmates are confined to their cells during a visit by Chilean President-elect Jose Antonio Kast to the Terrorism Confinement Centre mega-prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador. The facility is Latin America's largest prison and has become a symbol of President Nayib Bukele's anti-gangs operations. [Oscar Rivera/AFP]
a groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of a regional development policy-oriented construction in Unnyul County, South Hwanghae Province.
A groundbreaking ceremony marks the start of construction for a regional development policy project in Unnyul County of South Hwanghae province in North Korea. [Handout: KCNA/KNS via AFP]
Cuban soldiers take part in the Torchlight March on the 173rd anniversary of National Hero Jose Marti (a leader of Cuba’s independence from Spain and founder of the Cuban Revolutionary Party) in Havana
Cuban soldiers in Havana participate in a torchlight march commemorating the 173rd anniversary of the birth of Cuban independence leader Jose Marti and opposing US threats against the Caribbean island. [Adalberto Roque/AFP]
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building which was heavily damaged after a Russian strike in Odesa, Ukraine
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building hit in a Russian strike in the southern Black Sea port city of Odesa, Ukraine. [Michael Shtekel/AP Photo]
Family members mourn the death of a relative killed in an attack by Baloch separatists
Family members grieve at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, over the loss of a relative killed during an assault by Baloch separatists. Officials reported that on January 31, 2026, ethnic Baloch separatists conducted coordinated attacks throughout Balochistan province, killing nearly 200 people. [Adnan Ahmed/AFP]
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Video Duration 25 minutes 00 seconds 25:00
Video Duration 25 minutes 00 seconds 25:00
From: Fault Lines

Crackdown

Fault Lines investigates Trump’s immigration crackdown, from court arrests to deportations without due process.

Published On 4 Sep 2025
History Illustrated: El Salvador, CECOT prison and the US’s School of the Americas
History Illustrated: El Salvador, CECOT prison and the US’s School of the Americas
Critics of the US military’s Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) often call it the ‘School of Assassins’. The facility trains Latin American forces, some known for human rights abuses, from places like El Salvador, home to the infamous Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.
History Illustrated: El Salvador, CECOT prison and the US’s School of the Americas
WHINSEC began as the School of the Americas (SOA), a Cold War institution created by the US in 1946, based in Panama. It trained Latin American military personnel to fight communists. In 1984, due in part to public anger in Panama, the SOA relocated to Fort Benning in the US state of Georgia.
History Illustrated: El Salvador, CECOT prison and the US’s School of the Americas
Five years later, in 1989, the Salvadoran army’s Atlacatl Battalion killed six Jesuit priests, as well as their housekeeper and her daughter, under orders to ‘leave no witnesses’. Of the 26 officers implicated, 19 had been trained by the SOA at one time or another.
History Illustrated: El Salvador, CECOT prison and the US’s School of the Americas
Under public and congressional pressure in 1996, the Pentagon was forced to release Spanish-language, SOA training manuals that advocated extrajudicial killing and torture.
History Illustrated: El Salvador, CECOT prison and the US’s School of the Americas
In 2001, the SOA changed its name to WHINSEC, but critics accuse the US of making no substantive change to the curriculum. WHINSEC has denied responsibility for perpetrating abuses.
History Illustrated: El Salvador, CECOT prison and the US’s School of the Americas
Over the years, El Salvador has been in the top five of Latin American states to train security personnel at the SOA/WHINSEC. Today, the country is led by President Nayib Bukele. In 2023, he opened CECOT, a widely condemned mega-prison. As such, some rights groups criticise the SOA/WHINSEC for training security forces from countries like El Salvador.
History Illustrated: El Salvador, CECOT prison and the US’s School of the Americas
Since 2022, Bukele has used a ‘state of exception’ to suspend constitutional rights, allowing him to crack down on gang violence, but also public dissent. CECOT is his crown jewel.
History Illustrated: El Salvador, CECOT prison and the US’s School of the Americas
In March 2025, US President Donald Trump deported more than 230 alleged Venezuelan gang members to CECOT, even though at least 197 reportedly had no US criminal records. In CECOT, the men reportedly received frequent and severe beatings before being sent back to Venezuela in July.
History Illustrated: El Salvador, CECOT prison and the US’s School of the Americas
Rights groups accuse the Salvadoran penal system of torture, killings and disappearing people. In this climate of terror, the SOA/WHINSEC has trained personnel from El Salvador and other suspect Latin American states, like Argentina, Panama and Guatemala. Today, El Salvador has the highest per capita incarceration rate in the world.
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Video Duration 25 minutes 20 seconds 25:20
Video Duration 25 minutes 20 seconds 25:20
From: People & Power

The Cost of Control

With rare access to El Salvador’s most secure prisons, we explore the dark side of President Bukele’s gang crackdown.

Published On 27 Aug 2025
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