The Terrorism Confinement Center, commonly known by its Spanish abbreviation CECOT, is a maximum-security prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador. It was built in late 2022 during the Salvadoran government’s large-scale crackdown on gangs and opened in early 2023.

CECOT has a stated capacity of 40,000 inmates, making it the largest prison in Latin America and one of the largest in the world by prisoner capacity. It has become closely associated with President Nayib Bukele’s security strategy, which expanded sharply after a wave of gang killings in March 2022.

The prison has also attracted international controversy over detention conditions and alleged human rights abuses. In 2025, El Salvador used CECOT to hold people deported from the United States, including Venezuelan and Salvadoran detainees accused by the U.S. government of gang affiliations.

CECOT’s design and role in El Salvador’s crime crackdown have influenced security policy elsewhere in Latin America. In the news context, Costa Rica’s new high-containment prison was modeled on CECOT after Salvadoran authorities provided its design to the Costa Rican government.