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A coalition of human rights organizations has filed a lawsuit with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, seeking the release of 18 Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S. and detained without trial in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). The legal action raises concerns about potential violations of international human rights law, including enforced disappearance and denial of due process.
The deportations carried out in March under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump targeted individuals alleged to have ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. However, human rights advocates argue many of the deportees had pending asylum applications or had been approved for refugee resettlement in the U.S., and the accusations lack substantiated evidence. In some cases, tattoos were cited as the sole basis for alleged gang affiliations.
“These individuals have been stripped from their families and subjected to a state-sponsored enforced disappearance regime, effectively, completely against the law,” Bella Mosselmans, director of the Global Strategic Litigation Council, said.
Non-governmental organizations are crucial in supporting jailed migrants in El Salvador by providing legal assistance, documenting human rights abuses, and advocating for policy changes. These organizations have been instrumental in bringing international attention to the plight of deported Venezuelans and in challenging the legality of their detention.
The lawsuit, supported by organizations including Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, and the Boston University School of Law International Human Rights Clinic, contends the deportations and subsequent detentions violate international legal protections afforded to migrants. Under international law, deported individuals retain rights such as access to legal counsel, protection against torture, and the right to challenge their detention.
“Those disappeared to CECOT have been ripped from their homes and families, imprisoned in deplorable conditions, with no due process and no recourse,” Julie Bourdoiseau, Staff Attorney at CGRS, said. “These include people who came to the United States seeking refuge from persecution and state repression, only to suffer further abuses at the hands of the Trump and Bukele administrations. Our governments must not be allowed to operate above the law. This illegal scheme must end.”
El Salvador has been under a state of emergency since 2022, allowing President Nayib Bukele’s administration to suspend certain constitutional rights and conduct mass arrests. While the government claims these measures are necessary to combat gang violence, human rights groups have documented numerous instances of arbitrary detention and lack of due process.
The Salvadoran government has not publicly responded to the lawsuit. A spokesperson for President Bukele’s office declined to comment when contacted by the Associated Press.
The U.S. government reportedly paid El Salvador to detain the deported Venezuelans, but neither country has disclosed the identities of the detainees or the terms of the agreement.
“Conditions in CECOT and other detention facilities in El Salvador are beyond appalling,” Isabel Carlota Roby, Senior Staff Attorney with RFKHR, who recently tried to access the prison in person, said. “Detainees are held in inhumane conditions, without charges, without representation, and without hope. This is arbitrary detention on a mass scale.”
Legal experts warn the use of superficial characteristics – like tattoos – to justify deportations undermines the principles of international law and fundamental rights to legal defense and asylum. “Neither the Trump administration nor the Bukele regime have demonstrated any case where an individual has been determined by a court to be a member of a gang,” Mosselmans said.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has the authority to issue precautionary measures requiring El Salvador to release the detainees and facilitate their return to safe countries. However, the commission’s rulings are not binding, and enforcement relies heavily on political will and international diplomacy.
The lawsuit remains under review by the Inter-American Commission, which could hold hearings later this year.
