"This isn’t mistreatment—it’s control. It’s a model of security. And it’s keeping these violent actors far away from American communities."
“You traveled to El Salvador, to CECOT, to this ‘secret prison,’ you personally were holding cameras in there and were showing just stunning footage of this experiment in national safety, a national success, a beacon to the world about how to protect your country from the worst of the worst,” Posobiec said at the top of the segmet. “We’re told constantly these people are being mistreated. I don’t see anyone being mistreated. You just said it smells like a hospital.”
“That’s right,” Burra responded. “I returned from El Salvador, visited the prison CECOT, where Nayib Bukele and President Trump had worked out an agreement to send Venezuelan Tren de Aragua members that we are deporting under Bukele’s supervision at the CECOT centre.”
CECOT—the Center for Terrorism Confinement—is the largest prison in the Americas, with a capacity of up to 40,000 inmates. It is now considered the epicenter of El Salvador’s aggressive crackdown on violent crime and gang violence. “This is the CECOT where President Bukele had utilized to lock up thousands upon thousands of MS-13 gang members,” Burra noted.
Burra went on to describe what he witnessed inside the facility and the treatment of the inmates. “In fact, a lot of those folks were getting medical treatment on-site. A lot of those people were, in fact, getting better food than some people in America are eating today—especially the Tren de Aragua members.”
Burra described a clear difference between the two groups held at CECOT. “The contrast between the MS-13 ward and Tren de Aragua ward was just absolutely staggering, Jack. The MS-13 ward—you could hear a pin drop in there. These people were totally broken, totally drained of hope. You could see them in full compliance with whatever the guards say.”
“They even greeted us as we walked in, letting us know, ‘buenos.’ But the Tren de Aragua ward was out of control. As soon as we walked in, they were yelling, screaming at us, they were climbing up on the cages there, the cells there. And they were all yelling that they’ve been kidnapped and that they’re looking for their freedom, that they want their freedom. They were yelling ‘libertad.’”
Burra added, “Just to see these people up close, it made me appreciate the actions that Donald Trump took to put these people there and to make sure that these people are not on the streets of America, killing people.”
The visit follows ongoing legal battles over the deportation of nearly 200 alleged Tren de Aragua members. On Monday, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to lift a temporary ban on their removal from the US. The request came after a violent incident at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, Texas, on May 4, where a group of alleged gang members barricaded themselves in a housing unit and threatened to take hostages and harm ICE officers.
In its 66-page court filing, the administration argued that the “dangerous behavior” of at least 23 detainees justified their immediate removal. The Supreme Court had previously issued an emergency ruling temporarily blocking deportation under the Alien Enemies Act after a request from the ACLU.
CECOT has drawn international attention for its severe detention conditions. CNN reporters who recently toured the facility described cells “built to hold 80 or so inmates,” where detainees are locked up for 23.5 hours a day. Furnishings are minimal—metal bunks without mattresses or pillows, open toilets, and limited washing supplies. Despite international scrutiny, the prison remains a key part of Bukele’s national anti-crime strategy.
According to Burra, the approach is working. “This isn’t mistreatment—it’s control. It’s a model of security. And it’s keeping these violent actors far away from American communities.”
Watch the full episode below:
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