World Immigration News

Venezuelans deported by Trump are victims of ‘torture’, lawyers allege

Release Date: 2025-05-16
Media: The Guardian
Summary: 252 Venezuelan migrants deported by the Trump administration have been imprisoned for over two months in El Salvador’s high-security CECOT prison, sparking allegations of physical and psychological torture. Lawyers hired by the Venezuelan government have been denied access to the detainees and are demanding "proof of life," facing silence from President Nayib Bukele’s government and the Salvadoran justice system.

A habeas corpus petition was filed in March, challenging what the lawyers call illegal detentions, as the migrants have not been charged or prosecuted in El Salvador or the U.S. They were sent to El Salvador under wartime legislation invoked by Trump, accused—without trial—of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang, a claim denied by their families and legal representatives.

Despite requests, the U.S. has not released a list of the deported individuals. Human rights groups, including the UN, have raised serious concerns, and some deportations were even based on administrative errors. In April, Bukele proposed exchanging the 252 migrants for political prisoners held by Nicolás Maduro’s government, but no progress has been made. Families and advocates see echoes of Latin American authoritarian regimes in the migrants’ disappearances and treatment.
Tags: USA