An inmate inside the world’s deadliest prison who claims to have killed 30 people says he feels ‘no remorse’ and would do it again if he were ever released.
Once labelled the “murder capital of the world”, El Salvador is now home to what’s described as the planet’s largest prison complex, spanning an area comparable to 32 football pitches.
The vast facility is overseen by director Belarmino García, a hard-line chief known for enforcing an uncompromising routine that many consider among the toughest anywhere.
Even with around 40,000 of the country’s most dangerous offenders held inside, the prison runs on strict rules and serious breaches are said to be uncommon.
Filming inside is tightly controlled, though Channel 5 recently secured access to record for a documentary titled Richard Madeley on Murder Row.
So how does García maintain order among so many high-risk prisoners?
According to the documentary, anyone suspected of challenging the rules can be punished by being shut inside a pitch-black concrete cell for as long as 30 days.
Madeley also spoke with one prisoner identified as “psycho”, who alleged he has killed 30 people in El Salvador.
The inmate said: “Maybe we cry at night, but in truth, there is no change in us.
“All of us know that one day, even if this did stop we will return to do the same things outside.”
He is presented as one of many inmates expected never to leave CECOT, with some reported to have sentences exceeding 700 years.
Although the prison has been criticised by some as violating human rights standards, it appears to retain significant public support within El Salvador.
García has defended the prison’s methods, including a lighting policy that keeps cells illuminated around the clock.
“It’s simply part of the protocol, I need to be able to see what they are doing,” he added.
Inmates are reportedly permitted just one personal item: a Bible. Everything else—screens, reading material such as books or newspapers—is banned, and conversation is heavily restricted.
When Madeley asked García whether he views the conditions as “cruel”, García replied that the measures are “necessary to be in control”.
Prisoners are counted each day under intense security and are said to spend 23 and a half hours locked in their cells.
Richard Madeley on Murder Row is now available to stream on Channel 5.