Venezuela's returning migrants allege abuses in El Salvador's 'hell' prison where US sent them
Uzcátegui was among the migrants being reunited with loved ones after four months in prison in El Salvador, where the U.S. government transferred them in one of its boldest moves to crack down on immigration.
'Every day, we asked God for the blessing of freeing us from there so that we could be here with family, with my loved ones,' Uzcátegui, 33, said. 'Every day, I woke up looking at the bars, wishing I wasn't there.'
'They beat us, they kicked us. I even have quite a few bruises on my stomach,' he added before later showing a mildly bruised left abdomen.
The migrants, some of whom characterized the prison as 'hell,' were freed Friday in a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Venezuelan governments, but the latter sequestered them upon arrival to their country.
Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro and other officials have said many of the immigrants were physically and psychologically tortured during their detention in El Salvador, airing on state television videos of some of the men describing the alleged abuse, including rape, severe beatings and pellet-gun wounds. The narratives are reminiscent of the abuses that Maduro's government has long been accused of committing against its real or perceived, jailed opponents.
As the men reached their homes, they and their relatives shared deeply emotional moments in which sad tears and happy tears rolled down their cheeks at the same time.
Uzcátegui's wife, Gabriela Mora, 30, held onto their home's fence and sobbed as she saw the military vehicle carrying him approach after a 30-plus-hour bus ride to their mining community nestled in Venezuela's Andean mountains. She had set up gifts and decorations in their living room, including a star-shaped metallic blue balloon with a 'Happy Father's Day' greeting that his stepdaughter had saved since the June holiday.
'We met a lot of innocent people'
The 252 men ended in El Salvador on March 16 after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to pay $6 million to the Central American nation to house them in a mega-prison, where human rights groups have documented hundreds of deaths and cases of torture. Trump accused the men of belonging to the violent Tren de Aragua street gang, which originated in Venezuela.
The administration did not provide evidence to back up the accusation. However, several recently deported migrants have said U.S. authorities wrongly judged their tattoos and used them as an excuse to deport them.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello on Friday said only seven of the men had pending cases in Venezuela, adding that all the deportees would undergo medical tests and background checks before they could go home.
Arturo Suárez, whose reggaeton songs surfaced on social media after he was sent to El Salvador, arrived at his family's working-class home in the capital, Caracas, on Tuesday. His sister hugged him after he exited a vehicle of Venezuela's intelligence service.
'It is hell. We met a lot of innocent people,' Suárez told reporters, referring to the prison he was held in. 'To all those who mistreated us, to all those who negotiated with our lives and our freedom, I have one thing to say, and scripture says it well: Vengeance and justice is mine, and you are going to give an account to God Father.'
The Associated Press could not verify the abuse allegations that Suárez and other migrants narrated in the videos aired by state media.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab on Monday said he had opened an investigation against El Salvador President Nayib Bukele based on the deportees' allegations. Bukele's office did not respond to requests for comment.
Appointment to seek asylum
The men left El Salvador as part of a prisoner exchange with the U.S., which received 10 citizens and permanent residents whom Maduro's government had jailed over accusations of plotting to destabilize Venezuela.
Mora said her husband migrated after the coal mine he had long worked at halved his pay and their street food shop went out of business in 2023. Uzcátegui left Lobatera in March 2024 with an acquaintance's promise to help him find a construction job in Orlando.
On his way north, Uzcátegui crossed the punishing Darien Gap that separates Colombia and Panama, and by mid-April he had reached Mexico City. There, he worked at a public market's seafood stall until early December, when he was finally granted an appointment through a U.S. government smartphone app to seek asylum at a border crossing.
But Uzcátegui never walked free in the U.S., where authorities regarded his tattoos with suspicion, said Mara. He was sent to a detention center in Texas until he and other Venezuelans were put on the airplanes that landed in El Salvador. Still, she said she does not regret supporting her husband's decision to migrate.
'It's the country's situation that forces one to make these decisions,' she said. 'If (economic) conditions here were favorable..., it wouldn't have been necessary for him to leave to be able to fix the house or to provide my daughter with a better education.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
21 minutes ago
- New York Times
Staggering U.S. Tariffs Begin as Trump Widens Trade War
President Trump's punishing new tariffs on more than 90 countries snapped into place after the stroke of midnight Thursday, the latest escalation in a global trade war that has started to exact a toll on the U.S. economy. Few of America's major trading partners were spared under Mr. Trump's updated slate of duties, which together have sent the average effective U.S. tariff rate to its highest level in nearly a century. In the hours before the import taxes took effect, the president signaled there would be more to come, as he doubled down on a strategy that has rattled markets, driven up prices and spooked consumers and businesses around the world. Mr. Trump announced the new rates in a series of executive orders he signed last week, some of which formalized the preliminary trade agreements that he had reached in recent days with the European Union and other countries. The president has long maintained that these levies would help reset trade relationships that he deems unfair, raise new revenue for the U.S. government, spur more U.S. manufacturing and achieve other goals. Mr. Trump's tariffs have indeed helped generate money — roughly $152 billion in customs collections through July, recent data show — but his policies have not been without consequence. A growing number of businesses have warned recently that they may no longer be able to stomach the rising costs of key foreign components. As a result, prices have started to climb. The latest monthly measure of inflation showed that appliances, clothing and furnishings became more expensive in June. The economy has grown but at an anemic pace, and some analysts predict little improvement through the remainder of the year. The labor market has experienced its own strains, with hiring sharply slowing in July. Olu Sonola, the head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Ratings, said the economy was just 'starting to see' the effects of the tariffs that Mr. Trump announced in the spring, adding that with Mr. Trump's newest duties now in place, Americans would 'see that magnified' in coming months. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CNN
21 minutes ago
- CNN
Israel is using US munitions to ‘illegally and indiscriminately' attack Gaza school shelters, Human Rights Watch says
The Israeli military has 'illegally and indiscriminately' used US munitions to attack school shelters in Gaza, killing hundreds of people, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says. The US-based campaigners' report, 'Gaza: Israeli School Strikes Magnify Civilian Peril,' was published Thursday. Israel's campaign following the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023 has made the vast majority of Gaza's 2.1 million people homeless – forcing many to flee their neighborhoods in search of civilian infrastructure. Israel has frequently said its strikes on school facilities in Gaza target embedded Hamas fighters. But HRW said it only found seven instances where the military published details of alleged militants killed – and highlighted two strikes, which killed nearly 50 people, where they found no evidence of any military target. Such attacks would violate international law because schools and other educational facilities are civilian objects and protected from attack, HRW said. They lose that protection when used for military purposes or are occupied by military forces. But the use of schools to house civilians does not alter their legal status. HRW called on the US and other governments to halt arms sales to Israel, given the 'clear risk' that weapons might be used to commit or facilitate 'serious violations' of international humanitarian law.' Washington's supply of arms to Israel has made the US 'complicit' in their lawful use, the group said. 'Israeli strikes on schools sheltering displaced families provide a window into the widespread carnage that Israeli forces have carried out in Gaza,' Gerry Simpson, associate crisis, conflict and arms director at HRW, said in the report. 'Other governments should not tolerate this horrendous slaughter of Palestinians merely seeking safety,' added Simpson. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it 'operates exclusively on the grounds of military necessity and in strict accordance with international law.' 'It must be emphasized that the report blatantly ignores Hamas' systematic pattern of unlawfully embedding its' military assets, including weapons and ammunition in, beneath, and in proximity to densely populated civilian areas, and cynically exploits civilian infrastructure for terror purposes,' the IDF added. 'Specifically, it has been well documented that Hamas exploits schools and UNRWA facilities for its military activities by building military networks beneath and within schools; establishing command-and-control centers within them, launching attacks toward IDF forces from them, and imprisoning hostages in them.' The military said it takes 'feasible precautions' to mitigate harm to civilians as much as possible and 'regrets any harm caused to uninvolved civilians.' Israeli attacks on school shelters in Gaza have killed at least 836 Palestinians and injured another 2,527 people, as of July 18, HRW reported, citing the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). HRW investigated two such attacks where it identified the use of US munitions. The agency said it reviewed satellite imagery, photos, and videos of the attacks and their aftermath, as well as social media and interviews with eyewitnesses. CNN has previously reported on the use of US weaponry in deadly strikes and has reached out to the State Department for comment on the HRW report. On July 27, 2024, the Israeli military launched at least three strikes on the Khadija girls' school in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza. At least 15 people were killed. Then on September 21, Israel struck Al-Zeitoun school, northern Gaza. At least 34 people were killed. 'Can you imagine, a building full of displaced people leveled in the blink of an eye?' a journalist cited in the HRW report said. 'I saw people with serious and more minor injuries, and then saw human remains on the ground.' The allegations chimed with repeated human rights warnings that Israel's 22-month bombing and siege has rendered much of the enclave uninhabitable. HRW said attacks on school shelters have diminished access to refuge, exacerbated reconstruction challenges, and disrupted education among a pre-war population of more than 2.2 million people – where half of those are under the age of 18. At least 97% of schools in Gaza have sustained damage, the UNICEF-led Education Cluster reported in August. Efforts to rebuild destroyed homes in Gaza could take until 2040, the UN said in May. The level of destruction is so extensive that it would require external assistance on a scale not seen since 1948, the agency added. At least 61,158 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the Ministry of Health there reported on Wednesday. At least 193 people have starved to death, including 96 children, the ministry added. One Palestinian student told CNN that days spent going to university have been replaced by a brutal struggle for survival repeated displacement, and severe hunger. 'The war came and destroyed everything,' Raghad Ezzat Hamouda, 20, told CNN on Wednesday. 'I lost my ambitions and dreams,' added Hamouda, who is displaced with nine family members in Tal Al-Hawa, central Gaza. 'Gaza has become uninhabitable. (There are) no homes, no schools, no universities, no infrastructure… Just ashes.'
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
US to Scale Back Human Rights Accusations Against 3 Countries: Report
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The administration of President Donald Trump is scaling back criticism of certain foreign governments over their human rights records, including their treatment of LGBTQ+ people, in a shift from the traditional U.S. promotion of rights, The Washington Post reported. The newspaper reviewed leaked draft reports on El Salvador, Israel and Russia being prepared for the State Department's annual report on human rights practices in countries around the world. Newsweek reached out to the State Department for comment Wednesday night. Why It Matters The leaked reports for the three countries underscore how the Trump administration is rethinking the U.S. role in global human rights advocacy. The apparent shift on human rights reflects a pattern of disengagement from international conventions and comes as the administration has already moved to abandon long-held positions and norms in areas like trade, the environment and relations with allies. Diplomats in U.S. embassies around the world have drawn up the annual rights report for almost 50 years. Their findings are considered the most thorough and wide-ranging of their kind. President Donald Trump, left, greets Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, as Bukele arrives at the White House on April 14 in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump, left, greets Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, as Bukele arrives at the White House on April 14 in Washington, D.C. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP What To Know The Post said the documents it reviewed are consistent with internal guidance circulated this year by State Department leaders who advised staff to shorten the reports to the minimum required by statutory guidelines and executive orders and to remove references to government corruption, gender-based crimes and other abuses the U.S. government historically has documented. "The 2024 Human Rights report has been restructured in a way that removes redundancies, increases report readability and is more responsive to the legislative mandate that underpins the report," the newspaper cited a senior State Department official as saying. According to the Post, the reports it reviewed are significantly shorter than the ones prepared last year by the administration of former President Joe Biden. They cut all references to LGBTQ+ people or crimes against them, and the descriptions of government abuses that remain have been softened. The draft for El Salvador says it had "no credible reports of significant human rights abuses" in 2024. The previous report for El Salvador, documenting 2023, identified "significant human rights issues" there—including government-sanctioned killings, instances of torture and "harsh and life-threatening prison conditions." "A comparison of the documents covering El Salvador shows the Trump administration downplaying the country's history of prison violence, emphasizing that there has been a reduction overall while stating that purported deaths were under government review," the newspaper reported. El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, a close ally of Trump, has offered to house people from other countries deported by the U.S. in a mega-prison built to detain gang members. "Scrutiny of corruption and judicial independence also is significantly scaled back in the draft report for Israel," the newspaper said, adding that the Israel draft is 25 pages compared with more than 100 pages last year. The draft for Israel makes no mention of corruption or threats to the independence of its judiciary. The 2023 report compiled by the Biden administration addresses the corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and judicial overhaul efforts, which critics say threaten the independence of the judiciary. Previous reports also mentioned Israeli surveillance of Palestinians and restrictions of their movement but the issue is not addressed in the draft, the Post said. Keifer Buckingham, who worked on LGBTQ+ issues at the State Department until January, told the Post that the failure to include any mention in the reviewed reports of gender-based violence or violence against LGBTQ+ people was a "glaring omission" in the case of Russia, where its Supreme Court had banned LGBTQ+ organizations and labeled them "extremist," with raids and arrests last year. What People Are Saying Buckingham, also managing director at The Council for Global Equality, said: "Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio has repeatedly asserted that his State Department has not abandoned human rights, but it is clear by this and other actions that this administration only cares about the human rights of some some countries, when it's convenient to them." The senior State Department official cited by the newspaper said: "The human rights report focuses on core issues." What Happens Next It is not clear if the reports eventually transmitted to Congress and released to the public will mirror the drafts. The ones for El Salvador and Russia are marked "finalized," while the draft for Israel is marked "quality check," the Post reported.
