By Zo Terrana
Staff Writer
Approximately 252 Venezuelan immigrants in the United States were reportedly flown during night time hours to El Salvador where the migrants were indefinitely imprisoned at the Salvadoran mega prison known as CECOT, or the Terrioism Confinement Center. A recent Human Rights Watch report published on Nov. 12 broke the allegations of the alleged abuse that transpired in March and April 2025.
The 252 Venezuelan immigrants had no way of contacting the outside world from the mega prison with their whereabouts unknown to their various family members before they were released in a Venezuelan prisoner exchange, according to Democracy Now.
The former detainees of CECOT were reportedly beaten, sexually assaulted and faced starvation inside the mega prison. Many migrants remarked on their time and experiences at the facility as “hell,” according to the Miami Herald. The prisoners stated that the prison was overcrowded, had poor ventilation and food with lack of medical care.
The main reason the migrants were sent to the facility were reportedly charges of belonging to the Venuzulan gang known as Tren de Aragua. The detainees, who reportedly had no criminal records were accused without trial and held incommunicado, meaning they were unable to communicate with other detainees around them for months.
President Trump allegedly utilized the Alien Enemies Act of 1789 and “other mechanisms” to deport Venezuelans under alleged gang affiliation with the Salvadorian government providing miniscule oversight of accountability, as stated by the Miami Herald.
Juanita Goebertus, director of the Americas Division at Human Rights Watch, said in a press release, “The Trump administration paid El Salvador millions of dollars to arbitrarily detain Venezuelans, who were then subjected almost daily to brutal beatings by Salvadoran security forces.”
Goebertus added that the Trump administration is “complicit” in torture, enforced disappearances and other serious human rights violations. She then stated that the Trump administration should halt the movement of immigrants to El Salvador where they are at risk of being tortured, according to the Miami Herald.
The CECOT mega prison according to Human Rights Watch was established in 2023 and spans approximately 236 acres. The mega prison encapsulates other buildings such as housing modules, kennels for guard dogs, staff buildings, an armory and a security equipment warehouse.
A Human Rights Watch report stated, “The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the ‘Mandela Rules,’ recommend that the ‘number of prisoners in closed prisons should not be so large that the individualization of treatment is hindered.’ CECOT’s design is inherently inconsistent with this international standard.”
U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and 40 senators and representatives have cosigned a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem raining concerns over the reported incidents that transpired at CECOT.
An excerpt from the letter states, “Longstanding domestic and international law prohibit the United States from transferring any person from our jurisdiction or effective control to any place where the person would face such serious human rights violations. Yet, the Department of Homeland Security sent these individuals to El Salvador to be detained at CECOT, and the Department of State provided $4.76 million dollars to cover the costs “associated with” their detention.”
The Senators ended the letter stating that the prison violations are a "stain on the moral conscience of our country” and they urged Noem and Rubio to take proper steps to ensure the U.S. does not continue to be complicit in the unlawful behavior happening at CECOT.
