Venezuela Probes Abuse Claims After US Sends Migrants to El Salvador

Newsweek

5 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Venezuela has launched a formal investigation into El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and other senior officials over the alleged abuse of Venezuelan migrants deported there by the U.S.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab made the announcement during a press conference on Monday after 252 Venezuelan migrants returned to Caracas last Friday as part of a prisoner exchange between the U.S., El Salvador and Venezuela.
Some of the Venezuelans, who had been detained in the notorious Cecot prison since March, have alleged physical assault, sexual abuse and torture.
Why It Matters
The investigation follows a series of exchanges between the U.S., El Salvador and Venezuela that raised international concern over detainee welfare and due process rights.
The U.S. deported the Venezuelans to El Salvador in March under President Donald Trump's use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, bypassing standard legal safeguards and labeling the group as suspected gang members. Human rights groups, lawyers and relatives later contested the gang affiliations and criticized the lack of judicial review, sparking legal battles and diplomatic tension.
The episode intensified scrutiny of the U.S. deportation policies and the prison conditions under Bukele's administration, already known for its hardline anti-gang approach.
Meanwhile, Venezuela itself has faced repeated allegations of the torture of political opponents and refusing to allow private lawyers.
Arturo Suárez, one of the Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador by the United States under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, is welcomed home by his relatives in Caracas on July 22, 2025.
Arturo Suárez, one of the Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador by the United States under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, is welcomed home by his relatives in Caracas on July 22, 2025.
AP
What To Know
The 252 Venezuelans were repatriated to El Salvador on Friday in exchange for 10 U.S. nationals and dozens of Venezuelan political prisoners.
At Saab's Monday press conference, he showed an edited video of some of the detainees detailing their experience at Cecot. They showed bruises on their bodies, marks they said were from rubber bullets and scars.
One woman said, according to a translation by Mexico's investigative outlet Proceso: "We were there, suffering torture, physical assault, psychological assault. I was sexually abused by the Salvadoran authorities themselves. We thought we would never see our families again."
Saab said his office had collected 123 complaints of abuse after 80 Public Ministry officials interviewed the migrants.
Bukele has not directly addressed the allegations of abuse. Newsweek has contacted his office via email for comment.
In the past, his administration has stated that all detainees' rights are respected "without distinction of nationality" and that prison standards meet legal requirements.
Venezuela has condemned the migrants' detention as "kidnapping," but the U.S. and El Salvador have insisted they are gang members or tied to gangs. The Trump administration paid El Salvador $6 million to detain 300 migrants. Many of the families and attorneys of Venezuelans have denied the alleged gang ties.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security via email for comment.
Who People Are Saying
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab described "isolation in inhuman cells...without contact with sunlight, without ventilation" and "systematic attacks with rubber bullets."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on X about the prisoner exchange: "Thanks to POTUS's leadership, ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela are on their way to freedom. I want to thank my team at the State Department & especially President Nayib Bukele for helping secure an agreement for the release of all of our American detainees, plus the release of Venezuelan political prisoners."
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, on X: "As was offered to the Venezuelan regime back in April, we carried out this exchange in return for a considerable number of Venezuelan political prisoners, people that regime had kept in its prisons for years, as well as all the American citizens it was holding as hostages."
The Venezuelan government, in a statement on Friday afternoon: "The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela announces with satisfaction that it has achieved the release of the 252 Venezuelan citizens who were being held captive and subjected to enforced disappearance in a concentration camp known as CECOT, in the Republic of El Salvador.
"Venezuela has paid a high price to secure the freedom of these compatriots, through an exchange with the authorities of the United States of America of a group of U.S. citizens who were at the disposal of the justice system, for their proven involvement in serious crimes against the peace, independence, and security of the Nation.
"The President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro Moros, always willing to protect the lives and integrity of these Venezuelans subjected to serious human rights violations, did not hesitate to carry out this exchange and thus rescue these Venezuelan migrants kidnapped in El Salvador due to the actions of the most extremist sectors of the Venezuelan right."
What Happens Next
Venezuela's attorney general said the investigation is ongoing and will include further interviews and medical assessments of the returned migrants.
If substantial evidence of mistreatment is found, officials implied that Venezuela may pursue further legal or diplomatic steps against the El Salvadoran government, though specific international recourse is unclear.
The situation may bring renewed attention from human rights organizations to El Salvador's and Venezuela's detention conditions, as both governments have previously been accused of mistreating inmates.
The ramifications for U.S. immigration policy are also significant, as the Supreme Court recently curtailed aspects of the Alien Enemies Act to provide greater due process. Any findings from this Venezuelan investigation could influence ongoing international discussions regarding detainee handling, deportation processes and the obligations of detaining states under international law.