You may have seen the viral video: suspected illegal immigrant gang members rounded up in the U.S. and deported to El Salvador’s infamous mega-prison. But there’s a much larger story in the Central American nation. A radical prison overhaul that supporters call revolutionary; detractors criticize as oppressive. It started after a bold crackdown on crime. Where El Salvador once held the record for murder rates, it now holds the record for population behind bars. At the same time, it’s become the safest country in the western hemisphere. Today we ask: Is El Salvador providing a blueprint for tomorrow’s jails elsewhere—even here in the U.S.?

The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”
Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.

As we pull into the sprawling La Esperanza, El Salvador’s most populous prison— it’s striking to know that not long ago, this was one of the most dangerous places, in the murder capital of the world.

Today, it’s transformed into a remarkable model that’s drawing attention around the globe.

Juan Jose Montano commands the helm at La Esperanza. He’s giving us a tour that includes some places the media has never before been invited to see. Montano’s worked here for 19 years but admits El Salvador’s gangs ran the prison for most of that time until radical reforms under President Bukele.

Juan Jose Montano (as translated): So what is needed basically to keep this program going is that the order come directly from the president. The president is the one giving directions on how to do this. And then we here in the prisons, we can execute all of the indications that come from the president.

In 2021, President Bukele initiated a sweeping crackdown on gangs and crime. In a matter of weeks, 87,000 people were arrested. La Esperanza’s prison population quickly surged from 6,000 to nearly 30,000. Now, the inmates are enrolled in 24/7 around-the-clock shifts of training and labor that boosts the bottom line.

Sharyl (on-camera): The government claims over 48,000 prisoners are currently working in the prison system’s “Zero Leisure Plan,” reducing their sentences through work and training while making prisons nearly self-sufficient.

As part of Zero Leisure, these inmates are making shoes for soldiers and soon, public school children. They’re learning first response skills. They’re handcrafting lamps and creating art for government buildings. They gain skills to repair federal buildings, fix police cars and build hospitals and stadiums. They’re even growing their own food in the field.

In the U.S., the media spotlight was shined on El Salvador’s prison system last March. El Salvador agreed to accept alleged gang members and other high-risk deportees from the U.S. campaign against illegal immigration. This video captured the first wave of 200 inmates processed into the ultra-secure CECOT Terrorism Confinement Center

We weren’t permitted inside CECOT where conditions are the harshest among El Salvador’s prisons. But inmates there also take part in the sustainable Zero Leisure plan.

Sharyl: Can you describe contrast between what we see today and what this prison looked like five, 10 years ago?

Montano (as translated): 10 years ago, you could see on all the alleys inside the prison, a lot of graffiti and there were a lot of illegal weapons inside. And also there was a lot of trash inside. It was very much dirty. And there were a lot of traffic of forbidden objects and substances inside the prison.

During our visit to La Esperanza, 30,000 inmates were under control with few visible guards among them— most of the officers we saw, unarmed.

There are critics. Human rights advocates say El Salvador’s tough-on-crime sweeps have left some deprived of their civil rights and facing brutal conditions in prison unseen by the public.

Claudia Ortiz is a lead opposition voice in El Salvador’s legislature.

Claudia Ortiz: And I think one thing is to be an immigrant without a legal status in one country, and something very different is to be arrested in other country in which you haven’t committed any crime. So there aren’t any laws in El Salvador that authorizes that, and it violates international law as well.

Inmate Jose Coreas Cardenas says he’s appreciative of the Zero Leisure program but told us he’s been locked up here for more than three years— still not told exactly what he was arrested for.

Jose Coreas Cardenas: They told me that I was only supposed to be here 15 days. But it’s been a long time.

Sharyl: Long time.

Cardenas: I haven’t seen my parents. I haven’t seen my kids no contact at all. I mean, this is, how can I put it? Not unnecessary. It’s, it’s way too much. I mean, a lot of people that have done crime, bigger crimes or crimes that actually committed, have gone out already and we’re still here waiting for our

We couldn’t verify his story, but El Salvador’s Defense Minister René Merino Monroy told me it’s true that prisoners may not be told of their charges within the 72 hours called for under the Constitution. The legislature suspended those rules in order to enable the mass prosecutions.

Merino Monroy: So, and there are many guys, so it was impossible.

Sharyl: You don’t have the infrastructure to do that?

Merino Monroy: The corruption of the system. So it was impossible. Because we captured the guys and in 72 hours, they were free again and they continuing making crimes. So it was necessary to do our amending of our law in order to have the time, the necessary time, to present the charge of those guys. So it’s not because we want to violate anything, but everything is legal because we went to the Congress, requested the change, and it was approved.

Meantime El Salvador’s self-sufficiency prison model is wildly popular among its citizens. So are the mass imprisonments credited in part for plummeting crime rates.

Homicides peaked at 6,656 in 2015. Then fell to record lows in 2024: 114. On track for even fewer this year.

Now some other countries are looking to El Salvador’s model to address organized crime in their own cities— while teaching prisoners skills, and having them earn their keep. That includes Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

In the U.S., taxpayers spend $80 billion a year locking up 2 million prisoners. Some states are trying to address escalating costs by experimenting with their own versions of self-sustaining prisons.

Our tour of La Esperanza ends on an unexpected note: a performance by the inmate band. While some debate the terms, El Salvador is celebrating hard-fought victories. A striking contrast to five years back when MS-13 and other ruthless gangs dominated the prison.

Sharyl (on-camera): The popularity of El Salvador’s tough on crime president is above 90%.

Watch video here.