Latest news with #Bukele
Int'l Business Times
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Tears Of Joy As Venezuelan Migrants Return From El Salvador Prison 'Hell'
Tears of joy and relief flowed freely Tuesday as Venezuelan Maikel Olivera returned home to his mother's embrace after surviving four months of "real hell" in a Salvadoran prison. The 37-year-old is one of 252 Venezuelan migrants flown home last Friday from a notorious "anti-terrorism" prison where they were sent by the United States in a fear-inducing crackdown on undocumented migrants. Family and friends waited impatiently for Olivera to finally be released by Venezuelan officials after days of medical tests and questioning, breaking out in tearful cheers and waving Venezuelan flags as they saw a police car approaching his family home Tuesday. "You've come back to life, my love!" Olivera's mother Olivia Rojas exclaimed, hugging her son and lovingly stroking his face before taking a step back to look him up and down for any signs of distress. Cars honked in celebration and one person in the crowd wore a T-shirt with the slogan: "Migrating is not a crime." When the clamor died down, Olivera described the CECOT prison he and his compatriots were held at as "real hell." "There were beatings 24 hours a day," he told AFP of the experience. "They told us: 'you will rot here, you will be imprisoned for 300 years.' I thought I would never return to Venezuela again." The CECOT was built by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to house dangerous criminals in a successful but much-criticized war on gangs. Bukele accepted payment of millions of dollars from the US President Donald Trump's administration to add migrants deported from the US to his prison population in a move widely denounced by human rights groups. After four months incommunicado, Olivera and the others were finally freed in a prisoner exchange deal with Washington. And not a minute too soon. Caracas -- itself under investigation for alleged rights violations in its own prisons -- says the men were beaten, shot with rubber bullets, sexually abused and given rotten food to eat during their incarceration. The men had been sent to El Salvador despite US officials not providing any evidence for claims that they were gang members, and without any due process on American soil. The last they were heard of was when Bukele shared images of the men arriving at CECOT in chains, their heads shorn. Olivera said he and the others were not allowed to receive visits from lawyers or family members. "I had a friend who was gay, they raped him," he said. "They beat us just for taking a shower." Olivera was delivered Tuesday by authorities to the city of Barquisimeto, a more than four-hour drive west from the capital Caracas where the men arrived in two planes last week, and on the way to Maracaibo, where more families waited. Mercedes Yamarte, 46, worked for days to prepare a special meal and decorate her humble home in a poor Maracaibo neighborhood with balloons in the colors of the Venezuelan flag, bursting with impatience for the return of her son Mervin, 29. The banner outside read "Welcome to your homeland, you were missed," and inside a poster bearing Mervin's photo reads "Welcome home." As the hours passed Tuesday, several false alarms saw the community jump up in excited anticipation, just to sit down again on the plastic chairs they had arranged in a shady spot on a hot day. But Mercedes remained calm. She had spoken to her son, she said, and knew he was on his way. When word of the men's release from CECOT spread last week, people from the neighborhood had gathered around a TV in Mercedes's living room to try and spot their loved ones among the passengers getting off the planes. Among them was Yarelis Herrera, 45, who told AFP her son Edwuar Hernandez appeared "very changed. He looks more like a man now." He is 23. "They have no record of criminal activity, nothing. Humble people seeking a better future who ended up in this nightmare," Mervin Yamarte's younger brother Jonferson told AFP. He had escaped a similar fate by returning home from the United States on a humanitarian flight organized by Caracas. Olivera, Yamarte, and many others risked the dangerous journey to the United States to find work and send money home to economic and political crisis-riddled Venezuela. The South American country has lost about a quarter of its population -- some eight million people -- to emigration under President Nicolas Maduro, whose claims to victory in two successive elections are widely considered illegitimate.
Newsweek
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Venezuela Probes Abuse Claims After US Sends Migrants to El Salvador
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. 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 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.
eNCA
10 hours ago
- Politics
- eNCA
Venezuela says migrants were tortured in Salvadoran prison
Venezuela announced a probe Monday into torture claims by 252 migrants the United States had sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison where they said they were beaten, sexually abused and fed rotten food. Attorney General Tarek William Saab presented photos and testimonies at a news conference in Caracas of some of the men, who said they had feared not making it out alive. Several had bruises on their bodies, marks of being shot with rubber bullets, and one had a split lip. Andry Hernandez Romero, a 32-year-old beautician among those sent to the notorious CECOT prison as part of US President Donald Trump's migrant crackdown, said he barely survived the ordeal. "We were going through torture, physical aggressions, psychological aggressions," he said in a video presented by Saab. "I was sexually abused." AFP | Pedro MATTEY Saab said the prosecutor's office was interviewing the returned migrants. Many spoke of being held in "inhuman cells," deprived of sunlight and ventilation, and given rotten food and unsafe drinking water. The men had no access to lawyers or their relatives, and the last time many of them were seen was when President Nayib Bukele's government issued photos of them arriving at the prison shackled and with their heads shorn. - 'Mom, it's Mervin' - By Monday afternoon, the migrants had not yet been reunited with their families. Officials said they were undergoing medical exams, being issued with new Venezuelan ID cards, and interviewed by the prosecutor's office. Mercedes Yamarte, 46, told AFP she was preparing a welcome party for her 29-year-old son Mervin -- one of the men released from the prison Bukele built as part of his mass anti-gang crackdown. She had put up balloons, banners and prepared food at their home in a poor neighborhood of Maracaibo in northern Venezuela, but had no idea when to expect him. At lunchtime on Monday, she received a call, and heard the words: "Mom, it's Mervin." "I hadn't heard my son's voice in four months and seven days, listening to him was a joy, a joy I cannot describe," she told AFP. - Crimes against humanity - The men were accused in the United States of being gang members and flown in March to El Salvador, after Trump invoked rarely used wartime laws to deport the men without court hearings. Their treatment elicited an international outcry. Saab said the Venezuelan investigation would target Bukele and other Salvadoran officials for alleged crimes against humanity. And he urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN Human Rights Council to act. The men were freed last Friday and flown back home in what the Trump administration said was an exchange for 10 Americans or US residents and dozens of "political prisoners" held in Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro on his TV show Monday claimed Bukele had tried "last minute" to prevent the migrants from leaving. "You could not stop the first plane, but for the second plane he put some car on the runway... to provoke either an accident or prevent them from leaving," he said. AFP | Federico PARRA Venezuela itself faces an investigation by the ICC in The Hague, with similar allegations of torturing prisoners and denying them access to legal representation. Hundreds of people are held for political reasons in Venezuela, according to rights group Foro Penal. Some 2,400 people were arrested, 28 killed and 200 injured in a crackdown on protests that broke out last July after Maduro claimed victory in elections he is widely accused of having stolen. On Sunday, Maduro's government insisted negotiations for the migrants' release were held "only with the United States of America" and not "the clown" Bukele. By Javier Tovar With Margioni Bermudez In Maracaibo
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Acting ICE director fires back at Hunter Biden
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting director Todd Lyons on Wednesday slammed Hunter Biden, the son of former President Biden, over recent comments he made about immigration. 'That's just idiotic. It's dumb. You know, to make comments like that is crazy, because under the last administration, those are the problems we have right now. Under these former administrations, President Obama, President Biden, it's made illegal immigration common, in the commonplace, and that's just not the case,' Lyons told Fox News's John Roberts on 'America Reports.' In an interview released Monday, the younger Biden told YouTube creator Andrew Callaghan that 'all these Democrats say, you have to talk about and realize that people are really upset about illegal immigration.' 'F— you,' the former president's son continued. 'How do you think your hotel room gets cleaned? How do you think you have food on your f—— table? Who do you think washes your dishes?' 'I'll tell you what, if I became president in two years from now, or four years from now, or three years from now, I would pick up the phone and call the f‑‑‑ing president in El Salvador and say, 'You either f‑‑‑ing send them back or I'm gonna f‑‑‑ing invade.' It's a f‑‑‑ing crime what they're doing. He's a f‑‑‑ing dictator thug,' Biden added later. 'Bukele or Trump?' Callaghan asked, referencing Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. 'Both,' Biden responded. Bukele responded to Biden on the social platform X in a post that referenced the latter's past drug use. 'Is Hunter Biden sniffing powdered milk?' Bukele said in his Monday post that featured a clip with Biden's comments. During the first few months of his return to White House, President Trump and his administration have heavily cracked down on immigration. In mid-March, the administration deported Venezuelans and Salvadorans to the infamous CECOT prison in El Salvador. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Venezuela to probe El Salvador's Bukele for ‘torture' of US deportees
Venezuela has launched an investigation into the role El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele and his senior officials played in the alleged torture of 252 migrants who were detained in the Central American country after being deported from the United States. Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab made the announcement in Caracas on Monday, as he presented photos and testimonies of some of the men, who said they were beaten, sexually abused and fed rotten food while inside a notorious El Salvador prison. Others were denied medical care or treated without anaesthesia, Saab said, urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN Human Rights Council to act. The Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador from the US in March, after US President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without due process. The deportations drew fierce criticism from human rights groups and a legal battle with the Trump administration. Family members and lawyers of many of the men deny they had gang ties. Prisoner swap The former detainees arrived near Caracas on Friday following their release in El Salvador, in exchange for 10 US citizens and political prisoners held in Venezuela. Saab said the prosecutor's office was interviewing the returned migrants. Some of the former detainees have since reunited with their families, but they have not yet returned to their own homes. Several had bruises on their bodies, marks of being shot with rubber bullets, and one had a split lip. Andry Hernandez Romero, a 32-year-old beautician among those sent to El Salvador, said he barely survived the ordeal. 'We were going through torture, physical aggressions, psychological aggressions,' he said in a video presented by Saab. 'I was sexually abused.' Others spoke of being held in 'inhuman cells', deprived of sunlight and ventilation, and given rotten food and unsafe drinking water while in the El Salvador prison. The men had no access to lawyers or their relatives, and the last time many of them were seen was when Bukele's government issued photos of them arriving at the prison shackled and with their heads from Bukele, Venezuela will investigate El Salvador's Justice Minister Gustavo Villatoro and Head of Prisons Osiris Luna Meza, Saab said. Bukele's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the media. Late on Monday, Bukele posted about the return on social media but did not comment on the abuse allegations. 'The Maduro regime was satisfied with the swap deal; that's why they accepted it,' he said on X. 'Now they scream their outrage, not because they disagree with the deal but because they just realised they ran out of hostages from the most powerful country in the world.' President Nicolas Maduro, on his TV show on Monday, claimed Bukele had tried 'last minute' to prevent the migrants from leaving. 'You could not stop the first plane, but for the second plane he put some car on the runway … to provoke either an accident or prevent them from leaving,' he said. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado labelled the process as an 'exchange of prisoners of war' during a television interview on Monday. Venezuela itself faces an investigation by the ICC in The Hague, with similar allegations of torturing prisoners and denying them access to legal representation of political prisoners. Solve the daily Crossword
