Inside the hell of El Salvador: Stark images from notorious La Esperanza prison capture a world of despair in a place called Hope 

By Snejana Farberov

PUBLISHED: 18:28 EST, 24 November 2012 | UPDATED: 11:33 EST, 25 November 2012


Translated from Spanish, La Esperanza means 'hope,'  but looking through a series of poignant photographs taken inside the infamous men's prison in El Salvador that bears that name, one cannot see anything but anger, fear and utter hopelessness.

Located on a small hill in the northern outskirts of the capital of San Salvador, La Esperanza prison, commonly known as 'Mariona,' was built to house 800 men, but it currently holds 4,700 prisoners.

With not enough beds to go around for everyone, some inmates crawl into the suffocating 'caves' under bunk beds in search of a place to sleep.   

Behind bars: Inmates stand by a door at La Esperaza Jail in San Salvador, on November 23, 2012

Behind bars: Inmates stand by a door at La Esperaza Jail in San Salvador, on November 23, 2012

Despair: Inmates walk out of their cells after the morning counting at La Esperanza Jail

Despair: Inmates walk out of their cells after the morning counting at La Esperanza Jail

Shame: Inmates cover their faces as they walk to their cells to get some belongings after the morning counting

Shame: Inmates cover their faces as they walk to their cells to get some belongings after the morning counting

Others stretch out on the floor of the filthy, overheated cells until they can come up with $35 to rent a few inches of space on a bed from other prisoners, the New York Times reported.

Until late 1987, men incarcerated at La Esperanza, or Mariona, for political reasons were kept in a separate wing of the facility where they had been subjected to torture on a regular basis, according to reports from Amnesty International cited by the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

 

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Forms of torture included the capucha - a rubber or plastic hood used to induce asphyxiation - and severe beatings.

Crammed: Inmates wait for their turn to shower at the overcrowded jail that was built to hold 800 men

Crammed: Inmates wait for their turn to shower at the overcrowded jail that was built to hold 800 men

Shackles: Handcuffs hang from a wire netting at La Esperanza located on a small hill in San Salvador

Shackles: Handcuffs hang from a wire netting at La Esperanza located on a small hill in San Salvador

Morning ablutions: Inmates dressed in white shirts and long boxer shorts wash themselves at La Esperaza

Morning ablutions: Inmates dressed in white shirts and long boxer shorts wash themselves at La Esperaza

In one case, prisoners reported that guards set off gases in a cell block that spread some type of dust that led to the coughing up of blood after being inhaled.

Although instances of torture have declined over the past two decades, abuse at the hands of wardens continued to be reported as the number of inmates climbed.

Photographers from the notorious facility released this week show throngs of men, mostly in their 20s,30s and 40s, dressed in white standard-issued T-shirts or walking bare-chested in a desperate attempt to escape the stifling heat.

Guarded: Inmates walk in line as one of their jailers adjusts his ski mask

Guarded: Inmates walk in line as one of their jailers adjusts his black mask

Daily bread: An inmate carries tortillas for breakfast served to the 4,700 men that call La Esperanza home

Daily bread: An inmate carries tortillas for breakfast served to the 4,700 men that call La Esperanza home

Prison life: A guard standing in front of a religious mural gets ready for the morning counting

Prison life: A guard standing in front of a religious mural gets ready for the morning counting

Faith: Inmates don't have books available to them or formal classes, but they are permitted to participate in religious services

Faith: Inmates don't have books available to them or formal classes, but they are permitted to participate in religious services

The series captures the inmates as they go through their daily routine, from their wake-up call through the first count, their morning ablutions and a breakfast of tortillas.

While classes are few at La Esperanza and prisoners have no books available to them, they are allowed to participate in Catholic services, and several walls inside the jail are decorated with colorful religious murals.

La Esperanza is not the only prison in the small Latin American country suffering from severe overcrowding. The San Salvador jail and El Salvador's 18 other prisons were built to house 8,000 inmates, but they currently hold 24,000 men.

Jailhouse business: Inmates at La Esperanza make money on the side selling food and renting space on their bunk beds for $35

Jailhouse business: Inmates at La Esperanza make money on the side selling food and renting space on their bunk beds for $35

Horrors: The prison gained notoriety in the 1980s over reports of systematic torture involving political prisoners

Horrors: The prison gained notoriety in the 1980s over reports of systematic torture involving political prisoners


 
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None of your Human Rights clap trap there a proper prison i bet not many go back for a second tour if they get out a live that is.

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Since these prisons are always over full it shows the condition of the prison does not deter crime. People who are going to commit crime will do so regardless of the prison conditions. - Sarah the nurse , Iowa USA, 25/11/2012 14:39--------------Sarah, they don't live in a country that has the generous welfare state that we in the UK have, nor a health care system that is free to all, which of course is all paid for by the tax payer and monopoly money which we print in £billions and money we also have to borrow. I don't know how things are in the USA, but I am pretty sure that when we in the UK eventually go bust, because of our generous welfare programme and our banana republic method of just printing money , the prisons in this country will no doubt end up as full as those shown in the images. It's their poverty that causes prisons to be so full. Over here we treat some of our inmates better than our old age pensioners, so maybe that's why we have in excess of 70,000 inmates.

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THIS IS THE WAY PRISONS SHOULD BE TO MAKE PEOPLE SUFFER UNLIKE THE UK WERE THEY GET TVS AND PLAYSTATIONS!

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" Prison should be like the prisoner of war camps in Japan, the inmates there never looked like they could take out a granny for a pension book when released.... - UsernamColonAsterisk , CityColonAsterisk, United Kingdom "......my father was a POW in Japanese hands. I'm just glad that he will never have the misfortune to read your puerile drivel.- George , Overseas, 25/11/2012 14:15-------He opined.. Sir you are an ass.--------------------------------------------------------Did he want a second turn??? Whats that, NO!!! My point exactly--------------------------------------------

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Serves them right. Moral. Don't commit the crime.

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Sara the nurse. How can you say that. Prison does not stop these people because they have no, or little choice. Here we have good schools, a national health, good levels of pay and what we like to call, a government, all be it with little back bone when it comes to treating crime hard enough! WE have a choice!! If our prison were even just a little like hope then I think the people here would think twice!

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This prison is hell for the guards and heaven for the prisoners. Why would any guard let that many dangerous prisoners congregate in an open yard like that. Also how many guards go in to a prison room and move to the corner putting 2 inmates between him and the door. This is heaven because of the total disregard for safety for anyone.

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Since these prisons are always over full it shows the condition of the prison does not deter crime. People who are going to commit crime will do so regardless of the prison conditions.

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Looks ok, weather looks good. What´s the problem?

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I think all prisoners should be made to work, cleaning streets, scrubbing graffiti, and generally earning their keep. Prisoners are given free health care, three free meals a day, warmth, warm water and constant supervision in case something happens to them....here's an idea....let's put all our elderly in the prisons so they can have the chance to be warm and fed and very well cared for and watched over 24 hours a day. Just a thought !!!!!

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