Surviving CECOT (full documentary) | Deported to a Maximum-Security Prison | FRONTLINE + ProPublica

Video Description

The story of three Venezuelan men branded as gang members by the Trump administration and deported to CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador notorious for its harsh conditions. This journalism is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station here: https://www.pbs.org/donate​. This short documentary tells the story of three Venezuelan men — Juan José Ramos Ramos, Andry Blanco Bonilla and Wilmer Vega Sandia — who were branded by the U.S. government as Tren de Aragua gang members and deported by the Trump administration to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a prison in El Salvador notorious for its brutal conditions. All three men said they had no connection to Tren de Aragua and were not gang members. In U.S. government data ProPublica obtained, none were flagged as having a criminal conviction or pending charges. The documentary details what the men say they experienced inside CECOT – beatings, humiliation and abuse – and explores the lasting trauma of the ordeal on them and their families. “Surviving CECOT” is a ProPublica production for FRONTLINE in association with Alianza Rebelde Investiga, Cazadores de Fake News and The Texas Tribune. The producer is Gerardo del Valle. The senior producers are Frank Koughan and Lisa Riordan Seville. Almudena Toral is ProPublica’s executive producer and ProPublica’s editor-in-chief is Stephen Engelberg. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath. Explore additional reporting on “Surviving CECOT ” on our website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/surviving-cecot/ #Documentary #Venezuela #ElSalvador #CECOT Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PBSfrontline Sign up for our newsletter: https://frontline.org/newsletter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontlinepbs​ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frontline Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/frontlinepbs.bsky.social FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Trust, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. CHAPTERS: 00:00 - How 3 Venezuelan Men Were Detained by ICE & Deported By the U.S. 02:30 - The Harsh Conditions Faced by Deportees Sent to El Salvador’s CECOT Prison 07:52 - Venezuelans Deported to CECOT by the U.S. Describe Trauma 10:39 - Credits