Caracas (EFE) — A group of Venezuelan migrants who were deported by the United States to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador earlier this year and later repatriated are demanding guarantees to safely attend a court hearing ordered by a US federal judge, after ruling that the administration of United States President Donald Trump denied them due process.
The request was made by members of a group of 252 Venezuelans who were sent in March to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) and held there for four months before being returned to Venezuela on Jul. 18.
“We demand that the authorities of that country create real conditions that allow us to participate in the hearing without again putting our integrity and our lives at risk,” the migrants said in a letter released on Friday.
The group also urged the US to guarantee “dignified and appropriate” conditions should they be required to return, and called for a review of deportation and reception protocols to prevent similar cases in the future.
“We hope this ruling by the US judge marks the beginning of a fair and humane solution to our situation and sets a precedent for the protection of millions of migrants,” the letter said. It was read to the press by one of the repatriated migrants, who did not identify himself.
Allegations of abuse in detention
During a press conference in Caracas, several returnees described the physical and psychological impact of their detention in El Salvador.
Norberto Aguilar, one of the Venezuelans deported in March, said he was beaten while held at the CECOT prison.
Another repatriated migrant, Arturo Suárez, said the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has provided psychological therapy, but reintegration has been difficult.
“Physical wounds heal, but mental ones do not,” Suárez said. “We are struggling with anxiety, problems sleeping, and eating.”
The CECOT facility is known for holding suspected gang members under a strict security regime, and human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about conditions inside the prison.
US court order and next steps
On Monday, US District Judge James Boasberg ruled that the Trump administration violated the due process rights of nearly 200 Venezuelans by deporting them to a high-security prison in El Salvador without giving them the opportunity to challenge their designation as “enemy aliens.”
The judge ordered the US government to provide the migrants with a chance to appear before a judge and set a Jan. 5 deadline for the administration to submit a plan allowing the migrants to either return to the US or defend their cases remotely.
Boasberg also certified the case as a class action, clearing the way for all Venezuelans deported to the CECOT in March to challenge their removal and legal classification.
After months of pressure from relatives and advocacy groups, the Venezuelans were repatriated to their home country in July as part of a prisoner exchange between Washington and Caracas. EFE
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