Venezuelan Migrants Deported to El Salvador Face Harsh Conditions and Detention

After being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Neri Alvarado Borges and other Venezuelans were deported on a flight that ultimately landed in El Salvador. Initially hopeful, Alvarado believed he would soon return home after being detained in Texas earlier this year and agreeing to deportation. During a stop in Honduras, officials served pizza and hinted at a surprise, which turned out to be a transfer to El Salvador.

ICE officers informed the migrants that the order to send them abroad came from the President, warning that El Salvador’s guards might treat them poorly. Once in El Salvador, Alvarado was violently pulled off the plane, choked, and taken to the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). There, he endured extreme mistreatment, including beatings that knocked out a tooth and injured his knees and ribs.

Over 230 Venezuelans, accused with little or no evidence of gang affiliation, were held in CECOT in exchange for a $5 million payment from the Salvadoran government. The detainees, many of whom had benign tattoos or no gang ties, faced brutal conditions, including physical abuse, psychological torment, and forced shaving. Some contemplated suicide amid fears of death and torture, describing hospitals with guards watching during beatings, and enduring unspeakable cruelty like isolation and beatings in a dark cell known as “la isla”.

The detainees reported routine mistreatment, including being beaten with batons, subjected to tear gas protests, and forced to line up naked and receive threats of death. Despite some visits from officials and aid groups, the conditions were dehumanizing, with little medical care and constant surveillance.

After nearly four months of captivity, the men were finally released, transported back to Venezuela. Zambrano, who now reunites with family, described the profound emotional toll of separation and uncertainty. Alvarado, upon return, struggled with nightmares and anxiety linked to his detention but remains hopeful for justice and accountability for the abuses he suffered. Their stories underscore the human costs of harsh immigration enforcement policies and foreign deportation practices.