Venezuela examines El Salvador for alleged abuse of Cecot prisoners

Venezuela examines El Salvador for alleged abuse of Cecot prisoners

Venezuela has announced that it will initiate a formal examination against several Salvadorian officials, including President Nayib Bukele, due to the alleged abuse of Venezuelan migrants who have been deported from the USA

background of the situation

about 252 Venezolans, who in the infamous Cecot prison in March after their deportation were imprisoned on Friday by US officials released and brought back to your home country.

allegations against Salvadorian officials

Venezuela previously accused El Salvador of kidnapping the prisoners after it had agreed with the USA to take them into custody. El Salvador claimed that the prisoners were connected to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, but immigration lawyers, activists and family members rejected these claims and in many cases declared that the prisoners had no criminal records.

Investigations and allegations of abuse

The Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab held a press conference on Monday to inform about the alleged ill -treatment of the prisoners. He showed edited film material in which some prisoners report on their experiences in prison. Saab explained that the officials collected 123 complaints about abuse, including reports on sexual assault, torture and strokes by Salvadorian prison attendants.

In one of the videos, a man says that he was sexually abused. In another video, several prisoners who claim to have been beaten and attacked with rubber red and pepper spray show their injuries, including bruises and scars.

reaction of the Salvadorian government

The Bukele government has explained in the past that it respects the human rights of the detainees "without difference in nationality" and that the prison system corresponds to the security and regulatory standards.

Return of migrants to Venezuela

The released migrants are not yet united with their families in Venezuela. The authorities state that they are subjected to health, immigration and criminal registers- a routine procedure for returnees. Two members of the former prisoners reported CNN that they were still waiting for their families to hand over by the Venezuelan authorities. A relative said that their nephew may be handed over today.

The migrants landed on two flights at the Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas, which flown from El Salvador, as President Nicolás Maduro explained. The families of the former prisoners reported CNN on Friday that they are looking forward to the return of their relatives.

emotional return

Mariyin Araujo, the wife of Jerce Reyes, said she was "overjoyed". "My two daughters are super happy; they are very excited and can't wait to see their father," she said on Friday. Blanca Martínez, the partner of another former Venezuelan prisoner, Miguel Ángel Rojas, expressed her joy to hear him again for the first time after four months. "The idea that we can hear him ... that makes me excited," she said. "I am happy, happy for him, his son, his mother, his father and his whole family."

For more information about the developments in the situation of the Venezuelan migrants, keep us up to date.