Migrants detained in what is known as the “world’s worst prison” have sent a desperate cry for help by spelling out a powerful SOS message with their bodies in the prison yard. Over 250 detainees were relocated to the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) following a mass deportation order issued by Donald Trump, invoking a law last used during World War II.
Spanning 410 acres, the prison has the capacity to hold up to 40,000 individuals, spread across eight blocks with multiple modules. Inmates are subjected to grueling conditions, often confined in overcrowded cells with up to 70 people for 23.5 hours a day.
The living conditions are harrowing: open toilets, metal bunks without blankets or pillows, and a cement basin for washing. In stark contrast, the prison’s 2,000 guards enjoy access to a large dining hall, break rooms, a gym, and board games, as reported by the New York Post.
At the Bluebonnet immigrant detention center in Anson, detainees were so distraught over their situation that 31 men came together to form the letters “SOS” in an attempt to send a message to a drone flying overhead. Among those detained, families of seven individuals have claimed they are being held unjustly, with no ties to gangs.
19-year-old Jeferson Escalona, one of the detainees, shared his fear: “They’re making false accusations about me. I don’t belong to any gang. I fear for my life here. I just want to go to Venezuela.”
