People need to see that image,” Noem said of the striking photos of her surrounded by rows of tattooed inmates crammed inside their cells at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem posted a video Wednesday from a high-security prison in El Salvador, standing in front of a crowded cell.

Families of Venezuelan deportees held in El Salvador’s infamous Cecot prison can petition the Salvadoran government for their release – but the fruitfulness of that process is an open question in a country accused of arbitrary detention by rights groups and even the US State Department.

Noem toured crowded cells, the prison armory, and isolation units within the facility, which has drawn international attention.

The migrants, accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, are being held at CECOT without access to either the Salvadoran or American justice systems.

A Venezuelan mother is seeking answers after her son was detained in El Salvador, accused of being a member of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.

The United States has escalated its stance on illegal migration with a stark message delivered from one of the world's most notorious prisons. Homeland Security Chief Kristi Noem recently visited the Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) in El Salvador,

The migrants, accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, are being held in the prison without access to either the Salvadoran or American justice systems.