Deported Tren de Aragua gangbangers jeered and shouted and pressed against the bars of their cells in the first ever look inside the wing of El Salvador’s hellhole CECOT prison where they are being housed.
The shocking moment was recorded by the congressman-turned-OANN-anchor Matt Gaetz as he toured the Terrorism Confinement Center last week with a bipartisan congressional delegation..
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Ten.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) were in the prison to see the conditions of the facility where MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gang members were being held.
The MS-13 ward was somewhat tame, but when lawmakers entered the Tren de Aragua wing, gangbangers with the ruthless transnational group rushed to their prison bars and began shouting as well as taunting them in Spanish.
“We learned the stories of monsters, killers, satanic worship, human sacrifice, invaders to our land,” Gaetz dramatically recounted in his recap of the visit. “Until they entered CECOT, they are a threat to America and El Salvador no more.”
Hundreds of inmates in the Tren de Aragua area largely appeared to speak Spanish, so it was not entirely clear what they were shouting at the lawmakers.
Some of them stood by their prison bars and waved at the lawmakers in the clamorous scene.
President Trump had inked a $6 million deal with El Salvador to house deported violent gangbangers in the Salvadorian prison that is notorious for crowded conditions and rough treatment of the inmates.
Use of CECOT to house the alleged criminals has proven controversial. Earlier this year, Trump tapped into war powers under the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport suspected gang members to a violent prison.
In March, the administration deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador under the Immigration and Nationality Act alongside about 260 others sent via the Alien Enemies Act. Initially, he was sent to CECOT but has since been transferred to a lower security prison, according to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)
Democrats like Van Hollen have cried foul over the policy and lobbied for Abrego Garcia’s return.
THE @MATTGAETZ SHOW EXCLUSIVE:FIRST LOOK INSIDE CECOT’S TREN DE ARAGUA WARD pic.twitter.com/BhmJHM1zaK
— One America News (@OANN) May 13, 2025
During the visit, El Salvadorian officials showed lawmakers the meals they were giving to inmates at the mega-prison.
“That’s a good meal,” Luna exclaimed after a guard showed the reps a meal of burgers and fries for the Tren de Aragua ward.
The MS-13 ward had been given rice and beans to eat.
One of the alleged MS-13 inmates fessed up to murdering over 50 people. He had been deported from Falls Church, Virginia to CECOT.
Luna, who led the bipartisan delegation to El Salvador
“After going in there, you get a feeling inside that you can’t really describe — very heavy,” Luna reflected after the tour. “I wish more people could see it in person, because I think that they would have a way different approach on what’s currently happening.”
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