Entrance of the “Center for Confinement of Terrorism” (CECOT) in El Salvador. Photograph: La Prensa Gráfica Noticias de El Salvador.
Guacamaya, June 11, 2025. A group of relatives and close ones of Venezuelans detained in the Center for Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador arrived this week in the Central American country to demand proof of life and to learn about the health status of their loved ones. The prisoners are part of the more than 200 Venezuelans who were deported from the United States and accused of being part of the mega-criminal gang “Tren de Aragua.”
The delegation of relatives, mainly from the state of Táchira, arrived in El Salvador after raising funds on their own and with the support of lawyers and human rights defenders. The delegation is made up, among others, of Lisbeth Sanguino, aunt of Widmer Sanguino, who arrived in the U.S. as a refugee; and Reina Cárdenas, friend of Andry Hernández, an asylum seeker.
Although an initial total of 252 deportees held in CECOT was mentioned, it was later specified in a list that 238 Venezuelans remain detained in the maximum-security prison. The group of relatives arrived in El Salvador with a legal document representing six families, although they stated they are presenting themselves on behalf of all the Venezuelan inmates.
Walter Márquez, former Venezuelan congressman and president of the El Amparo International Foundation, appeared on behalf of the delegation before the General Directorate of Penal Centers, in San Salvador, to deliver a letter. In the letter, the group requested to verify that their relatives are alive, check on their health status, understand their legal situation, and demand their immediate release.
“We want to demand from President Bukele the right to visit. Officially it is not known whether they are there or not because the government has declared that information secret (…) We have asked the International Red Cross to help us verify their health status,” Márquez told the Spanish newspaper El País in a phone call.
The arrival of the group of Venezuelan relatives also included a visit to the Office for the Defense of Human Rights (PDDH) and, in addition, they plan to request the intervention of the Apostolic Nunciature so that the Pope may mediate in the case. The 238 Venezuelans who remain imprisoned in the Salvadoran mega-prison have all been accused of being part of the “Tren de Aragua.”
The legal situation of the deported Venezuelan migrants has been uncertain, since no charges have been filed nor concrete evidence presented linking them to criminal activities. In fact, according to the Salvadoran non-governmental organization Cristosal, only 13% of the Venezuelans detained in CECOT have criminal records.
The mass deportation of Venezuelans to CECOT is part of an agreement between the governments of the United States and El Salvador, under which the administration of Donald Trump pays six million dollars to keep the migrants detained. In this regard, the UN Human Rights Office has expressed deep concern about the opacity of the case and the lack of legal representation for those affected.
(With information from El País and AFP)
