They were deported to El Salvador's megaprison. What happened inside?
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 2 September 2025
⏱️ 38 minutes
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Summary
In March, as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, the United States sent more than 250 migrants, the majority being Venezuelan nationals, to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a megaprison often referred to by its Spanish acronym, CECOT.
In July, four months later, the men from Venezuela were released to Venezuela as part of an international prisoner swap. U.S. officials acknowledged in court that many of those sent to CECOT had no criminal record.
The Washington Post interviewed 16 of the men, providing the fullest account yet of the treatment and conditions inside CECOT. That includes Roger Molina, a food delivery driver and aspiring soccer player who had been conditionally accepted into a State Department resettlement program for refugees.
Today, Samantha Schmidt, The Post’s Bogotá bureau chief, shares Molina’s story and what she and her colleagues learned about the difficult conditions inside CECOT, a secretive prison where inmates are denied access to lawyers and almost all contact with the outside world.
Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sam Bair. Thanks also to Helena Carpio, Christine Armario, Maria Paul and Teo Armus.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | When Roger Molina arrived home in Venezuela, it was captured on camera by friends and family. |
| 0:08.5 | The moment is euphoric. A cascade of family members squeeze him tight. He's in tears. |
| 0:16.7 | The video that they posted online doesn't have any sound, except for a song called Volver a Casa. |
| 0:24.5 | It's by the Venezuelan singer Mario Caceres, |
| 0:27.7 | and it translates to, to return home. |
| 0:37.1 | This song has become an unofficial anthem for families like Rogers. |
| 0:42.3 | Families whose loved ones were suddenly deported and then imprisoned. |
| 0:49.9 | Just days before this video was filmed, Roger was in jail in El Salvador, |
| 0:55.8 | the notorious mega-prison called Seacott. |
| 0:59.4 | It was allegedly built for El Salvador's worst criminals. |
| 1:03.4 | But in March, as part of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, |
| 1:08.0 | Roger and more than 250 other deportees were sent to Seacott. The majority of them |
| 1:14.7 | were Venezuelan, and many, like Roger, had no criminal records. Since this prison open in El Salvador, |
| 1:22.7 | we've had very little information about what actually goes on inside. And until now has been really a black |
| 1:29.7 | box since very few people have left the prison and even fewer have spoken publicly about |
| 1:35.2 | the treatment inside. Samantha Schmidt is a bureau chief for the post covering South America. |
| 1:41.3 | She and several of our colleagues wanted to know what happened inside of Seacott. |
| 1:46.7 | So they started speaking to more than a dozen Venezuelan deportees who were released. |
| 1:52.8 | They have now gotten the fullest picture yet into this prison, including from Roger. |
| 2:01.6 | Here, Roger's saying, I found're in the entrance of the Secoq. Here Roger is saying, |
| 2:02.6 | I found myself at the entrance of the Secold. |
| 2:05.6 | Back in March, he had no idea he was even being sent to El Salvador, |
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