Mystery ‘mound’ spotted at El Salvador prison sparks conspiracy theories | News World

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Concerns have been raised after satellite images revealed a big dirt mound on the grounds of a brutal El Salvadorian prison.

Reddit conspiracy theorists are stating a mysterious ‘mound’ in Google Earth images from March of this yr on the Center for Terrorism Confinement.

Since March, El Salvador has accepted greater than 200 Venezuelan immigrants from the US – whom Trump administration officials have accused of gang activity and violent crimes.

They’ve been placed within the country’s notorious maximum-security gang prison just outside the capital, San Salvador.

Sharing the satellite images from Google Maps, a Redditor said: ‘This was posted in one other group, but I desired to share here as well.

‘Apple Maps has blurred these, but Google remains to be live. Drained and true death camp they’ve got there.’

A big mound of dirty was seen near the prison (Picture: Google Maps)
Alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and the MS-13 gang, recently deported by the U.S. government, look on from inside a jail at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison, in Tecoluca, El Salvador April 12, 2025. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS-THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
The prison incorporates hundreds of alleged gang members and criminals (Picture: Reuters)

One Redditor claimed: ‘I don’t think people realize how brutal El Salvador is. On the very least, they’re torturing them. That’s why El Salvador was chosen.’

It’s unclear what the mound of dirt is getting used for – because the operations of the prison are entirely indoors.

The satellite images were shared online just days after Donald Trump’s top advisers and the president of El Salvador said they don’t have any basis for the Central American nation to return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported there last month.

Trump administration officials emphasised that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador, was a citizen of that country and that the US has no say in his future.

President Nayib Bukele, who has been an important partner for the Trump administration in its deportation efforts, said, ‘After all I’m not going to,’ when asked if he would release Mr Garcia back to US soil.

‘The query is preposterous,’ Bukele said. ‘How can I smuggle a terrorist into america? I don’t have the ability to return him to america.’

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, left, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, April 14, 2025. (Pool via AP)
El Salvador’s president said returning Mr Garcia is ‘preposterous'(Picture: AP)
U.S. military personnel escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and the MS-13 gang recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison, at the El Salvador International Airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador April 12, 2025. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS-THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
Military personnel have escorted alleged gang members from the US to El Salvador (Picture: Reuters)

CECOT has drawn praise from hardline law-and-order politicians and despair from human rights organisations.

Bukele ordered the development of ‘Latin America’s biggest prison’ as he launched his purge against El Salvador’s gangs – including the dreaded MS-13 and Barrio 18 – in early 2022.

It opened a yr later within the town of Tecoluca, around 45 miles east of the capital San Salvador.

In a position to hold 40,000 inmates – nearly half the complete UK prison population – the CECOT is made up of eight sprawling pavilions.

Its cells hold 65 to 70 prisoners each. None receive visits.

There aren’t any programs preparing them to return to society after their sentences, no workshops or educational programs. They are going to never see daylight again.

The exceptions are occasional motivational talks from prisoners who’ve gained a level of trust from prison officials.

Prisoners sit in rows within the corridor outside their cells for the talks or are led through exercise regimens under the supervision of guards.

Bukele’s justice minister has said that those held would never return to their communities.

The prison’s dining halls, break rooms, gym and board games are for guards.

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