Shackled and paraded, now home: El Salvador frees 252 Venezuelan migrants in US prisoner swap
The 252 men were accused — without evidence — of being gang members and flown to the notorious CECOT 'anti-terror' jail last March.
There, they were shackled, shorn and paraded before cameras — becoming emblematic of Trump's immigration crackdown and drawing howls of protest.
Yesterday, after months of legal challenges and political stonewalling, the men arrived at an airport near Caracas.
The Trump administration said they were released in exchange for 10 Americans or US residents held in Venezuela, and an undefined number of 'political prisoners.'
'Today, we have handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country,' Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said on social media.
The migrants' return to Venezuela sparked tearful celebrations from family members who had heard nothing from them in months.
'I don't have words to explain how I feel!' said Juan Yamarte. 'My brother (Mervin) is back home, back in Venezuela.'
Mervin's mother told AFP she could not contain her happiness. 'I arranged a party and I'm making a soup,' she said.
The men had been deported from the US under rarely used wartime powers and denied court hearings.
Exiled Salvadoran rights group Cristosal believes that just seven of the 252 men had criminal records.
Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro thanked Trump for 'the decision to rectify this totally irregular situation.'
'High price'
In the US, families were also excited to see their loved ones return. One had been imprisoned for nearly a year.
Global Reach, an NGO that works for wrongly detained Americans, said one of the men freed was 37-year-old Lucas Hunter, held since he was 'kidnapped' by Venezuelan border guards while vacationing in Colombia in January.
'We cannot wait to see him in person and help him recover from the ordeal,' it quoted his younger sister Sophie Hunter as saying.
Uruguay said one of its citizens, resident in the US, was among those liberated after nine months in Venezuelan detention.
Another plane arrived at Maiquetía airport earlier yesterday from Houston with 244 Venezuelans deported from the US and seven children who Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said had been 'rescued from the kidnapping to which they were being subjected.'
The children were among 30 who Caracas says remained in the US after their Venezuelan parents were deported.
Clamping down on migrants is a flagship pursuit of Trump's administration, which has ramped up raids and deportations.
It has agreed with Maduro to send undocumented Venezuelans back home, and flights have been arriving near daily also from Mexico, where many got stuck trying to enter the US.
Official figures show that since February, more than 8,200 people have been repatriated to Venezuela from the US and Mexico, including some 1,000 children.
The Venezuelans detained in El Salvador had no right to phone calls or visits, and their relatives unsuccessfully requested proof of life.
Bukele had CECOT built as part of his war on criminal gangs, but he agreed to receive millions of dollars from the US to house the Venezuelans there.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other rights groups have denounced the detentions as a violation of human rights. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
a few seconds ago
- New Straits Times
CK Hutchison wants Chinese firm to join bidding for its US$22.8 billion ports business
HONG KONG: CK Hutchison said on Monday it wants a major Chinese strategic investor to join the BlackRock-led consortium bidding for its US$22.8 billion ports business, after media reported that state-owned China COSCO Shipping Corp aims to join the group. The Hong Kong conglomerate in a statement said changes to the composition of the consortium and structure of the transaction will be necessary to secure regulatory approval, and that it will allow as much time as needed to achieve that. A 145-day exclusivity period for talks between the parties expired on Sunday. CK Hutchison's Hong Kong-listed shares were due to open higher just shy of one per cent on Monday. A deal would cover 43 ports in 23 countries including two ports near the Panama Canal which links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. US President Donald Trump initially hailed the sale as "reclaiming" the Panama Canal after his administration called for the removal of what it said was Chinese ownership of some ports. US investment firm BlackRock declined to comment. COSCO, Italian consortium member MSC and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. China views the potential sale as a threat to its interests, seeing the consortium as a proxy for growing American influence in a region it considers economically and geopolitically significant. State-backed media, in criticism of the sale, said China has significant national interests in the matter and that selling the ports would be a betrayal of the country. China's top market regulator said it was paying close attention to developments and stressed the deal would be subject to a Chinese antitrust review. CK Hutchison in its statement said any new investor must be a "significant" member of the consortium. "This is an interesting development. A PRC (China) investor with majority control of the consortium sounds like a non-starter in my view. An investor with a less than 50 per cent stake you would think should keep everyone happy," said strategist David Blennerhassett of Ballingal Investment Advisors who publishes on SmartKarma.
The Sun
a few seconds ago
- The Sun
US-China tariff talks resume in Stockholm to extend trade truce
STOCKHOLM: US and Chinese economic officials will hold fresh talks in Stockholm on Monday to negotiate an extension of their tariff truce, aiming to prevent a sharp escalation in trade barriers and pave the way for a potential meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping later this year. The discussions follow a temporary pause in trade hostilities after May and June agreements eased tensions, but an August 12 deadline looms for a more permanent deal. Without progress, US tariffs on Chinese goods could revert to triple-digit levels, disrupting global supply chains. 'We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes,' Trump told reporters on Sunday, hinting at cautious optimism. The Stockholm talks come shortly after the US and EU struck a major trade deal, reducing tariffs on European goods and securing large-scale US energy purchases. However, analysts expect no immediate breakthrough in US-China negotiations, predicting instead a 90-day extension of the current truce. Previous discussions in Geneva and London focused on lowering retaliatory tariffs and restoring trade in critical goods like rare earth minerals and AI chips. Yet, deeper economic disputes—such as US concerns over China's export-driven model and Beijing's objections to US tech export controls—remain unresolved. 'Geneva and London were really just about trying to get the relationship back on track so that they could, at some point, actually negotiate about the issues which animate the disagreement between the countries in the first place,' said Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A potential Trump-Xi meeting in late October could provide momentum for further concessions. China may push for reduced US tariffs and eased tech restrictions, while the US seeks increased Chinese purchases of American goods to narrow the trade deficit, which hit $295.5 billion in 2024. - Reuters
Free Malaysia Today
18 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Thai-Cambodia border shelling continues despite Trump's ceasefire call
Displaced Cambodians receive water at the Battkhao Resettlement Camp in Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia. (AP pic) SISAKET : Cambodia and Thailand each said the other had launched artillery attacks across contested border areas early on Sunday, hours after US President Donald Trump said the leaders of both countries had agreed to work on a ceasefire. Four days after the worst fighting in more than a decade broke out between the Southeast Asian neighbours, the death toll stood above 30, mainly civilians. More than 130,000 people have been evacuated from border areas in the two countries. Cambodia's defence ministry said Thailand had shelled and launched ground assaults on Sunday morning at a number of points, including in Phnom Kmoach, which borders Thailand's coastal Trat province. The ministry's spokesperson said heavy artillery was fired at temple complexes. The Thai army said Cambodia had fired shots into several areas, including near civilian homes, early on Sunday. The governor of Surin told Reuters artillery shells had been fired into the province, damaging a house and killing some livestock. In the Thai province of Sisaket, Reuters reporters heard shelling early on Sunday and said it was unclear which side of the border it was on. 'If there is a ceasefire, things will be better,' Sisaket resident Thavorn Toosawan told Reuters. 'It's great that America is insisting on the ceasefire because it would bring peace.' Trump speaks to both leaders Trump said on Saturday that he had spoken with the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia and they had agreed to meet immediately to quickly work out a ceasefire to end fighting that began on Thursday. Bangkok and Phnom Penh each say the other side started the hostilities. 'Both Parties are looking for an immediate Ceasefire and Peace,' Trump wrote on social media. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet endorsed the call for the fighting to stop. 'I made it clear to Honourable President Donald Trump that Cambodia agreed with the proposal for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between the two armed forces,' Hun Manet posted on Facebook, noting he had also agreed to Malaysia's earlier ceasefire proposal. Thailand's response was more qualified, as it had been with the proposal from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, saying Cambodia needed to do more before talks could begin. 'I thanked President Trump for his concern and expressed that Thailand agrees in principle to have a ceasefire in place. However, Thailand would like to see sincere intention from the Cambodian side,' acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Facebook. The countries have faced off since the killing of a Cambodian soldier late in May during a brief skirmish. Troops on both sides of the border were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse. Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over undemarcated points along their 817km (508-mile) land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th-century Preah Vihear central to the disputes. Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tension escalated in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list it as a Unesco World Heritage site, and skirmishes over several years brought at least a dozen deaths. Cambodia said in June it had asked the court to resolve its disputes with Thailand, which says it has never recognised the court's jurisdiction and prefers a bilateral approach.
