Venezuelan nationals deported to El Salvador by the US government earlier this year were tortured and ill-treated, advocacy groups reported Nov. 12.
According to an 81-page report jointly released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Cristosal, a Salvadoran advocacy organization, members of a group of 252 Venezuelan deportees sent to El Salvador’s notorious Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) were subjected to torture, arbitrary detention, and in some instances sexual abuse, while held incommunicado in inhumane conditions. The organizations found a pattern of coordinated abuse rather than isolated incidents. One former detainee told the investigators: “I’m on alert all the time because every time I heard the sound of keys and handcuffs, it meant they were coming to beat us.”
HRW blames the Trump administration for the conditions the Venezuelans faced, stating that the administration paid El Salvador nearly $5 million to detain the individuals. President Trump issued a presidential proclamation on March 14, regarding the “invasion of the United States by Tren de Aragua.” Trump claimed that thousands of members of Tren de Aragua, (TdA), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, had entered the US. He further stated that TdA operates “in conjunction with Cártel de los Soles, the Nicolas Maduro regime-sponsored, narco-terrorism enterprise based in Venezuela, and commits brutal crimes, including murders, kidnappings, extortions, and human, drug, and weapons trafficking.” Despite Trump’s claim that those sent to El Salvador were criminals, HRW released data indicating that only eight (3.1%) had been convicted in the US of a “violent or potentially violent” crime, while nearly 49% had no criminal history.
The US District Court for the District of Columbia swiftly issued a two-week temporary restraining order on March 15, blocking the government from removing Venezuelans from the US. However, the government continued with deportations, resulting in the court ruling in April that there was probable cause to hold the government in contempt. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in September that the Trump administration cannot invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport Venezuelan nationals, holding that the AEA is applicable only in cases of war or invasion by a foreign nation or government.
The Venezuelans who were detained have since been returned to their home country, where nearly 8 million people have fled a humanitarian emergency and harsh repression under the regime of Nicolas Maduro.
From JURIST, Nov. 12. Used with permission. Internal links added.
