The prison meals for the 'living dead': Moment Richard Madeley joins shaven-headed inmates as they eat their dinner of rice and beans at El Salvador's mega jail

By MARK DUELL, DEPUTY CHIEF REPORTER (DIGITAL) Published: 01:36, 26 May 2026 | Updated: 01:36, 26 May 2026 Richard Madeley joined prisoners eating rice, beans and tortillas for dinner at El Salvador's mega jail - before pointing out the lack of cutlery and green vegetables. The broadcaster watched inmates hurriedly take boxes of food through the bars of their concrete cells where they spend 23 and a half hours a day with nothing to do. Some 3,000 shaven-headed inmates including gang members, rapists and terrorists eat the same meals every day at the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot). Madeley watched the meals being distributed while visiting Cecot for new Channel 5 documentary 'Inside the World's Mega Prison' airing this Wednesday, then tried one out himself - mistakenly dipping his hand in the beans rather than using a tortilla. He asks prison director Belarmino Garcia: 'So they never eat outside the cell, they only ever have their meals in the cell. What's the food, what's dinner tonight?' Mr Garcia says it is 'beans and rice', and a chef is seen wheeling in a trolley packed with boxes containing the meals. Madeley adds: 'That's the same every night?' The director tells him: 'That's dinner and breakfast, it's always repeated. Different at lunch which is rice and pasta.' Madeley then says the meal is not a 'balanced diet'. The boxes are placed outside each cell before a command is given and the prisoners then hurriedly take them through the bars and hand them out to fellow inmates. Cecot prison director Belarmino Garcia opens the box of food for Richard Madeley Some 3,000 shaven-headed inmates are imprisoned at the Terrorism Confinement Center Madeley starts eating the beans with his hands, before the governor says: 'No, con la tortilla' Madeley says: 'Oh you dip it in with the tortilla. I'm not gonna lie, the beans are quite tasty' Madeley tells the director that 'there's no green vegetables' in the meals served to inmates Mr Garcia then opens the box for Madeley, telling him: 'This is the food that is being served to them.' The presenter replies: 'But they have to eat with their fingers?' He is told: 'With your hands. Cutlery doesn't exist here.' Madeley then starts eating the beans with his hands - before the governor says: 'No, con la tortilla.' Madeley replies: 'Oh you dip it in with the tortilla. I'm not gonna lie, the beans are quite tasty, but this isn't what you'd call a nutritious meal, is it? I mean, there's no green vegetables.' He is told: 'You have the protein and you have the rice, but yes.' The jail has become the cornerstone of Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's war on drug cartels and key to deportations from the US under President Donald Trump. Inmates sit in silence in windowless cells – and Good Morning Britain host Madeley has said the harsh regime inside the £85million facility in Tecoluca could help authorities in Britain fix what he described as the 'broken' prison system. He said: 'I think Cecot is probably a unique, brutally bespoke solution to the horrors that plagued ordinary El Salvadorians for so long. But I do believe there are lessons we can learn and apply to repair our own broken prison system. 'Namely, that once you've agreed on the level of security and punishment and deterrence you want from it, you can achieve consistent results. You just need the application and determination to do it.' In Cecot, prisoners wear only boxer shorts with their heads shaved, lights are never switched off and there are no family visits, recreational spaces or rehabilitation programmes. Madeley said the men have 'absolutely nothing whatsoever to do' while sat in their cells, given they are not allowed books, magazines, newspapers or screens. Madeley watches the meals being distributed while visiting Cecot for a new documentary The boxes of food are placed outside each cell for the inmates before a command is given Footage of the meals being delivered features in the new documentary airing on Channel 5 The inmates hurriedly take the boxes of food through the bars of their concrete cells One of the prisoners takes the boxes into his cell before distributing them to other inmates Madeley says the prisoners never eat outside the cell and only ever have their meals in there There are no workshops, libraries, opportunities to learn kitchen skills and no visitors. He added: 'All meals must be taken in their cells, inside which they spend 23 and a half hours every day, with just 30 minutes outside for brief, heavily-guarded exercise. 'They just sit on their bunks, day in, day out, and the prison lights stay on 24/7, never dimmed. All will die in this prison. It's a living death.' The 57-acre facility was built to hold up to 40,000 prisoners and currently houses an estimated 15,000 inmates. Many are suspected members of rival gangs that terrorised the country for decades, alongside convicted murderers and rapists. Madeley said: 'Nothing, absolutely nothing, can prepare you for the sight of 3,000 shaven-headed men crammed behind floor-to-ceiling bars. No doors. No screening. 'They sit there in permanently open view through the bars, on tiers of metal bunks four-high - no mattresses, just thin cotton sheets - staring out. It's one hell of a sight' Mr Bukele ordered the mega-prison to be built in March 2022 as part of his campaign against El Salvador´s gangs, and it opened a year later. Able to hold 40,000 inmates, Cecot is made up of eight sprawling pavilions. Its cells hold 65 to 70 prisoners each and none of them receive visits. There are no programmes preparing them to return to society after their sentences and no workshops or educational programs. They are never allowed outside. Richard Madeley inside the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) in Tecoluca, El Salvador There are no family visits, no recreational spaces and no rehabilitation programmes at the jail Suspected gang members sit in metal bunks stacked four beds high in concrete cells Good Morning Britain host Madeley has received rare access to the maximum-security jail  Shaven-headed inmates are crammed behind floor-to-ceiling bars with nothing to do The exceptions are occasional motivational talks from prisoners who have gained a level of trust from prison officials. Prisoners sit in rows in the corridor outside their cells for the talks or are led through exercise regimens under the supervision of guards. The prison's dining halls, break rooms, gym and board games are for guards. Until recently, El Salvador had the highest murder rate in the world, with 106 homicides per 100,000 people. The country was plagued by brutal gang violence which regularly featured extortion, kidnapping, murder, human trafficking and drug smuggling . But following Mr Bukele's election in 2019, his government launched a major security crackdown that has seen tens of thousands of suspected gang members detained - and a claimed huge reduction in the murder rate. This has attracted praise from Mr Trump – whose government struck a deal with Mr Bukele to accept what they described as transfer and imprisonment of foreign criminals to El Salvador. Last week, official figures revealed the number of people deported to El Salvador from the US nearly doubled in the first months of 2026. The US deported 5,033 Salvadorans back to their country in the first three months of 2026 compared with 2,547 deportees in the same period in 2025. The government of El Salvador - where 2 per cent of the population are now in prison - says gang violence has been responsible for 200,000 deaths over the past three decades. 'Inside the World's Mega Prison' airs on Channel 5 this Wednesday at 9pm No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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