‘Hell on earth.' A Venezuelan deportee describes abuse in El Salvador prison

Los Angeles Times

3 days ago

CARACAS, Venezeula — When Jerce Reyes Barrios and other Venezuelan deportees entered a maximum security prison in El Salvador this spring, he said guards greeted them with taunts.
'Welcome to El Salvador, you sons of bitches,' Reyes Barrios said the guards told them. 'You've arrived at the Terrorist Confinement Center. Hell on earth.'
What followed, Reyes Barrios said, were the darkest months of his life. Reyes Barrios said he was regularly beaten on his neck, ribs and head. He and other prisoners were given little food and forced to drink contaminated water. They slept on metal beds with no mattresses in overcrowded cells, listening to the screams of other inmates.
'There was blood, vomit and people passed out on the floor, he said.
Reyes Barrios, 36, was one of more than 250 Venezuelans sent to El Salvador from the United States in March after President Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without normal immigration procedures. Many of the men, including Reyes Barrios, insist that they have no ties to the gang and were denied due process.
After enduring months in detention in El Salvador, they were sent home last week as part of a prisoner exchange deal that included Venezuela's release of several detained Americans.
Venezuela's attorney general said interviews with the men revealed 'systemic torture' inside the Salvadoran prison, including daily beatings, rancid food and sexual abuse.
One of the former detainees, Neiyerver Adrián León Rengel, filed a claim Thursday with the Homeland Security Department, accusing the U.S. of removing him without due process and asking for $1.3 million in damages.
Reyes Barrios spoke to The Times over video Thursday after returning to his hometown of Machiques, a city of 140,000 not far from the Colombian border. He was overjoyed to be reunited with his mother, his wife and his children. But he said he was haunted by his experience in prison.
A onetime professional soccer player, Reyes Barrios left Venezuela last year amid political unrest and in search of economic opportunity. He entered the U.S. on Sept. 1 at the Otay Mesa border crossing in California under the asylum program known as CBP One. He was immediately detained, accused of being a gangster and placed in custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A court statement earlier this year from his attorney, Linette Tobin, said authorities tied Reyes Barrios to Tren de Aragua based solely on an arm tattoo and a social media post in which he made a hand gesture that U.S. authorities interpreted as a gang sign.
The tattoo — a crown sitting atop a soccer ball, with a rosary and the word 'Díos' or 'God' — is actually an homage to his favorite team, Real Madrid, Tobin wrote. She said the hand gesture is sign language for 'I Love You.'
While in custody in California, Reyes Barrios applied for political asylum and other relief. A hearing had been set for April 17, but on March 15, he was deported to El Salvador 'with no notice to counsel or family,' Tobin wrote. Reyes Barrios 'has never been arrested or charged with a crime,' Tobin added. 'He has a steady employment record as a soccer player as well as a soccer coach for children and youth.'
The surprise deportation of Reyes Barrios and other Venezuelans to El Salvador drew outcry from human rights advocates and spurred a legal battle with the Trump administration.
Reyes Barrios was not aware of the controversy over deportations as he was ushered in handcuffs from the airport in San Salvador to the country's infamous Terrorism Confinement Center, also known as CECOT.
There, Reyes Barrios said he and other inmates were forced to walk on their knees as their heads were shaved and they were repeatedly beaten. He said he was put in a cell with 21 other men — all Venezuelans. Guards meted out measly portions of beans and tortillas and told the inmates they 'would never eat chicken or meat again.'
El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, has detained tens of thousands of his compatriots in CECOT and other prisons in recent years, part of a gang crackdown that human rights advocates say has ensnared thousands of innocent people.
Bukele garnered worldwide attention and praise from U.S. Republicans after he published dramatic photos and videos showing hundreds of prisoners crammed together in humiliating positions, wearing nothing but underwear and shackles. During a meeting with Bukele at the Oval Office this year, Trump said he was interested in sending 'homegrowns' — i.e. American prisoners — to El Salvador's jails.
A spokeswoman for Bukele did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Reyes Barrios said guards told him and the other detained Venezuelans that they would spend the rest of their lives in the prison.
Reyes Barrios said he started praying at night: 'God, protect my mother and my children. I entrust my soul to you because I think I'm going to die.'
Then, several days ago, he and the other prisoners were awakened by yelling in the early morning hours. Guards told them they had 20 minutes to take showers and prepare to leave.
'At that moment, we all shouted with joy,' Reyes Barrios said. 'I think that was my only happy day at CECOT.'
After arriving in Venezuela, Reyes Barrios and the other returnees spent days in government custody, undergoing medical checks and interviews with officials.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has seized on the treatment of prisoners, airing videos on state television in which some deportees describe suffering abuses including rape, beatings and being shot at with pellet guns. Venezuelan authorities say they are investigating Bukele over the alleged abuse.
Maduro, a leftist authoritarian who has ruled Venezuela since 2013, has maintained his grip on power by jailing — and sometimes torturing — opponents. Many of the 7.7 million Venezuelans who have fled the country in recent years have cited political repression as one reason for leaving.
In Tobin's court statement, she said Reyes Barrios participated in two demonstrations against Maduro in early 2024. After the second, Reyes Barrios was detained by authorities along with other protesters and tortured, she wrote.
Reyes Barrios said he did not wish to discuss Venezuelan politics. He said he was just grateful to be back with his family.
'My mother is very happy, ' he said.
He was greeted in his hometown by some of the young soccer players he once coached. They wore their uniforms and held balloons. Reyes Barrios juggled a ball a bit, gave the kids hugs and high fives, and smiled.
Linthicum reported from Mexico City and Mogollón, a special correspondent, from Caracas. Times staff writer Patrick J. McDonnell contributed from Mexico City.