CARACAS, Venezuela — A group of Venezuelan migrants who were transferred by the U.S. government to a high-security prison in El Salvador earlier this year have publicly demanded justice and accountability for alleged human rights violations. Their outcry comes days after a federal judge in Washington ruled that the Trump administration must provide them with proper legal due process.
Approximately two dozen of the 252 Venezuelan men held a press conference in Venezuela’s capital on Friday, organized by the government of President Nicolás Maduro. They detailed experiences of physical and psychological torture during their detention at the notorious Salvadoran prison facility.
Andry Blanco, speaking on behalf of the group, stated: “We are here to demand justice before the world for the human rights violations committed against each of us, and to ask for help from international organizations to assist in our defense so that our human rights are respected and not violated again.”
The legal development occurred on Monday when U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the U.S. government to either provide court hearings or return the men to the United States. This ruling creates a pathway for the migrants to challenge the Trump administration’s allegations that they are members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang and subject to removal under an 18th-century wartime law.
Many of the men described ongoing psychological trauma and daily struggles, including fear of leaving their homes or encountering law enforcement. While not all expressed interest in returning to the U.S., they uniformly seek accountability for their treatment.
Venezuelan Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Communications Camilla Fabri announced that the Maduro government is collaborating with U.S. legal associations and human rights organizations to prepare a major lawsuit against former President Trump and the U.S. government. The migrants were initially flown to El Salvador in March and returned to Venezuela in July as part of a prisoner exchange between the two governments.