Urgent Action Outcome: Men Expelled To El Salvador Repatriated

After a four-month ordeal, all 252 Venezuelan nationals that the Trump administration illegally expelled from the USA to El Salvador were returned to Venezuela on 18 July 2025. While the men have been freed from CECOT we remain deeply concerned about their wellbeing and rights. Amnesty International will monitor the situation and respond accordingly.

On 16 March 2025, the US government unlawfully expelled 238 individuals to the Centro de Confinamiento Contra el Terrorismo (CECOT), an infamous prison in El Salvador, under the purported authority of the Alien Enemies Act. On 30 March, an additional 17 individuals, both Salvadoran and Venezuelan, were deported to El Salvador. 

More than 4 months later, on 18 July, all 252 Venezuelan nationals that were illegally expelled to El Salvador were forcibly returned to Venezuela. While we celebrate that these individuals are no longer being detained in such horrific conditions, some of which could amount to torture and other ill-treatment, many of those expelled to El Salvador from the U.S. had been granted relief or had active asylum claims. Therefore, they are now facing the prospect of arbitrary detention and human rights violations in the place they first fled from, a country where, according to Amnesty International, authorities commit crimes against humanity against those they perceive as critics or dissidents.

In the coming days and weeks, we will invariably learn more about the abuses that these people faced while detained in CECOT. Additionally, we will be monitoring the actions of both the Venezuelan and US governments, as it is imperative that the human rights of these individuals are upheld, including not re-detaining them without due process. For those men who choose to continue to pursue their claims in the United States, the Venezuelan and U.S. governments must allow for their return to the U.S. so they can continue to fight their case with due process guarantees and outside of detention. as well as monitor their treatment in their home country of Venezuela. 

Thank you to all those who took action. While the men have been freed from CECOT, we remain deeply concerned about their safety. We will monitor the situation and respond accordingly. 

For now, we are relieved that some families will be able to hug their loved ones once again and breathe a short sigh of relief after months of anguish being separated totally incommunicado.

NO FURTHER ACTION IS REQUESTED. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT APPEALS.