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Mar 2025
27m 39s

The autocrat's prison

Vox
About this episode

The US is deporting alleged members of the gang Trén de Aragua and paying El Salvador to house them in a mega-prison. But we don’t know if the deportees are actually gang members at all.


This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy and Amanda Lewellyn, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King.


Further reading: Inside El Salvador's notorious CECOT mega-prison. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast

Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members


More than 250 suspected gang members deported from the U.S. arriving in El Salvador's mega-prison. Photo by El Salvador Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images.

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