They Pulled the CECOT Segment Because You Weren’t Supposed to See It
Here’s the footage, and here’s what it says about power, secrecy, and what’s being done in our name.
If you want to understand what power fears, watch what it tries to hide.
CBS pulled a “60 Minutes” segment about El Salvador’s CECOT after it was ready to run. But it still aired in Canada. So I’m embedding it here, on Project Battleground, because Americans shouldn’t need a Canadian broadcast to see what’s being done in our name.
This segment isn’t some new ambush by the “liberal media” loaded with new Trump admin soundbites. It’s basic reporting. It’s testimony, and it’s verification. It’s a simple question asked to the people in charge… and a refusal to answer.
That’s the whole story.
What’s in the segment???
The reporting centers on interviews with people who say they were imprisoned at CECOT, plus human rights investigators who’ve been tracking what’s happening.
One former detainee describes being tortured upon arrival. Another describes being taken to a punishment cell with no light and no ventilation, and says guards used beatings and intimidation on a schedule. Not chaos. Not “things got out of hand.” A system.
The segment also points to ICE data reviewed alongside Human Rights Watch findings suggesting only a small number of deported men had been sentenced for violent or potentially violent crimes.
If that’s accurate, then we’re not talking about “going after the worst of the worst.”
We’re talking about exporting people into a punishment machine all for the sake of “public safety”.
At the end of the segment, DHS declines an interview and refers questions to El Salvador. El Salvador doesn’t respond.
Read that again. The people with the power to clarify, to justify, to rebut, to explain… won’t show up. Won’t answer. Won’t even pretend.
And somehow the story becomes “controversial.”
No. The story is straightforward. What’s controversial is how comfortable we’ve gotten with disappearing people into places like this while our institutions politely look away.
This is what soft censorship looks like.
Nobody has to say “don’t report it.” You just bury it in process.
You call it “additional reporting.” You say “standards.” You delay it long enough for the moment to pass, for the outrage to cool, for the public to move on to the next thing.
That’s a veto. And it always protects the same people: the ones with power, access, and lawyers.
If a vetted, buttoned-up “60 Minutes” segment about a prison like CECOT can get yanked, then the lesson is obvious:
The truth isn’t being suppressed because it’s weak. It’s being suppressed because it’s strong.
So… Why post it here?
Because I’m not interested in a country where “they declined to comment” becomes a kill switch on accountability.
Watch the video. Then share it… not just with the people who already agree with you. Share it with the group chat that “doesn’t do politics.” Share it with the folks who’ve been trained to hear “law and order” and stop thinking.
Not because it’s a gotcha. But, because it’s a mirror.
And if they’re scared of the mirror, that tells you everything.
Subscribe to Project Battleground so you get this kind of coverage when it drops (and when someone tries to bury it). And share this post right now, especially with the people who “don’t do politics.” This isn’t politics. It’s accountability.
Forward it. Text it. Post it. Put it where it can’t be ignored.