Venezuela's Maduro Targets El Salvador's Bukele Over Migrant Abuse Firstpost America
Venezuela Venezuela's Maduro Targets El Salvador's Bukele Over Migrant Abuse| Firstpost America | N18G
Venezuela has launched a criminal investigation into El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele and two senior officials, accusing them of human rights violations against Venezuelan migrants. Over 250 Venezuelans were deported from the US and detained in El Salvador's high-security CECOT prison, where they allegedly faced torture and mistreatment. The prisoners were released last week as part of a three-country deal involving the US. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has condemned El Salvador's prison conditions, while President Bukele denies wrongdoing. Rights groups have long criticised CECOT, and diplomatic tensions between the two nations are now intensifying. Watch to know more.
See More
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Time of India
Donald Trump sparks chaos as extreme visa rules threaten Canada's co-hosting FIFA World Cup 2026
Donald Trump sparks chaos as extreme visa rules threaten Canada's co-hosting FIFA World Cup 2026 (Image via Getty) The 2026 FIFA World Cup is coming soon, and it's going to be the biggest one ever. Canada, the United States, and Mexico are co-hosting the tournament from June 11 to July 19, 2026. There will be 104 matches and 48 national teams, more than ever before. But just months before kickoff, political tensions in the United States are raising new worries. Fans and players from around the world may face travel trouble because of U.S. immigration rules under President Donald Trump. Some experts are warning that Trump's tough immigration policies could make it hard for visitors to cross into the U.S., even for a sports event as big as the World Cup. Victor Matheson says U.S. immigration rules could hurt fans and players at 2026 FIFA World Cup Victor Matheson, a sports economics professor at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, said in a July 2025 interview that travel bans and strict border checks could cause serious problems. 'You could have immigration problems with fans and players going across borders,' he said. Trump's administration already has travel bans on 12 countries and restrictions on seven more. He is also thinking about blocking travelers from 36 other nations, which could affect fans or even team staff. While athletes and staff usually get special visas, many experts say Trump's policies can change very fast, and no one knows what rules will be in place next year. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Me Tri: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You) Unsold Furniture | Search Ads Learn More Undo Andrew Zimbalist, an economist who wrote a book on the World Cup, also shared his concerns. 'Trump might make it hard for people to travel. But even he may not know what he'll do,' Zimbalist said in an interview this month. Experts like Tim Elcombe, MacIntosh Ross raise concerns about safety, movement, and image of FIFA World Cup 2026 Tim Elcombe, a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, said that the idea of co-hosting the World Cup with Mexico and Canada was to show unity. But now, it might become a political problem. 'This could be more political than the Qatar World Cup,' Elcombe said. Also Read: Venezuelan Little League Team Blocked From US Tournament By Donald Trump's Travel Ban In early July 2025, human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, wrote a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, saying U.S. laws under Trump could harm people, especially those who are not U.S. citizens. MacIntosh Ross, a fellow at Saint Mary's University, said Canada must speak up to make sure things are safe. 'Canadian organizers need to be clear about what they expect from the U.S.,' h e said. With games in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada will host many fans. But most games, including the final, will happen in the U.S. FAQs 1. Will fans have trouble traveling to the 2026 World Cup in the U.S.? Yes, experts say U.S. travel rules under President Donald Trump could make it hard for some fans to cross the border. 2. Is Canada still co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with the U.S. and Mexico? Yes, Canada is co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup along with the U.S. and Mexico. Games will happen in Toronto and Vancouver. 3. Can political issues affect the 2026 FIFA World Cup? Yes, U.S. immigration and border rules may cause problems for fans, players, and staff traveling for the tournament. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Indian Express
16 hours ago
- Indian Express
Venezuelan men expelled to El Salvador megaprison faced ‘state-sanctioned torture', say lawyers
When José Manuel Ramos Bastidas finally reunited with his family in El Tocuyo, Venezuela, it marked the end of an ordeal that began with his deportation by the Trump administration and ended in what his lawyers describe as 'state-sanctioned torture' inside El Salvador's notorious Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Cecot) megaprison. His emotional return was captured as his wife, child, and mother embraced him wearing shirts printed with his image. 'We have been waiting for this moment for months, and I feel like I can finally breathe,' said his partner, Roynerliz Rodríguez, according to The Guardian. 'These last months have been a living nightmare… There must be justice for all those who suffered this torture.' Ramos Bastidas was one of 252 Venezuelan men deported to Cecot as part of a deal negotiated between the US and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The agreement reportedly involved the release of 10 detained US citizens and several Venezuelan political prisoners in exchange for the deported individuals. The men were finally repatriated last week. Lawyers representing the men say many endured routine beatings, psychological torture, and severe deprivation. Ramos Bastidas and others were allegedly told they would spend between 30 and 90 years at Cecot unless President Trump intervened. They were repeatedly shot with rubber bullets, including on the final day of their detention. Another deportee, Edicson David Quintero Chacón, described to his lawyer the experience of being kept in isolation for prolonged periods. He believed he would die there. His scars from daily beatings remain, and he said detainees were only allowed soap or bathing privileges when the prison was being showcased to outside visitors, forcing them to choose between hygiene and public humiliation. The food was minimal, and detainees were forced to drink dirty water. The lights stayed on through the night, preventing any rest. 'And the guards would also come in at night and beat them,' said his lawyer, Stephanie M Alvarez-Jones of the National Immigration Project. In a legal filing requesting dismissal of her months-long petition for the men's release, Alvarez-Jones stated: 'He will likely carry the psychological impact of this torture his whole life. The courts must never look away when those who wield the power of the US government, at the highest levels, engage in such state-sanctioned violence.' Ramos Bastidas had never committed any crime, nor had he ever lived freely in the United States. After spending his life working in Venezuela to support his family, he left the country last year to seek better economic opportunities and afford treatment for his infant with severe asthma. In March 2024, he entered the US at a legal port of entry using the CBP One app to apply for asylum. Although his application was denied, he agreed to deportation. But US Customs and Border Protection flagged him as a suspected member of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang, based solely on an unverified tip from Panamanian officials and his tattoos. Despite agreeing to voluntary return, Ramos Bastidas remained in detention for months. In December, Venezuela was not accepting deportees, prompting Ramos Bastidas to request release so he could arrange his own return. But the political situation shifted in January when Donald Trump was sworn in again as president. Soon after, Ramos Bastidas saw other Venezuelan detainees being sent to Guantánamo Bay and feared he was next. On March 14, he told his family he might finally be returning to Venezuela. The next day, he was sent to Cecot. 'They could have deported him to Venezuela,' Alvarez-Jones said. 'Instead, the US government made a determination to send him to be tortured in Cecot.' Now back in Venezuela, survivors and their families are calling for justice. Lawyers and human rights advocates argue that the use of Cecot for deported migrants is grave abuse of power. (With inputs from The Guardian)
Mint
17 hours ago
- Mint
Venezuelan migrants reveal shocking abuse in El Salvador jail under Trump crackdown — ‘abuse, violence, spoiled food'
Venezuelans, who were detained in US President Donald Trump's March immigration crackdown, talked about the "horror" they endured during their time in the Salvadoran jail. They alleged witnessing abuse, beatings, violence, spoiled food and legal limbo. In an interview with news agency AFP, 37-year-old Maikel Olivera recounted there were "beatings 24 hours a day" and sadistic guards who warned, "You are going to rot here, you're going to be in jail for 300 years." "I thought I would never return to Venezuela," he said. As many as 252 Venezuelans were detained in US President Donald Trump's March immigration crackdown. They were accused without evidence of gang activity, and deported to El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT. "Welcome to hell!...You are going to die here!" heavily armed guards taunted them on arrival to the maximum security facility east of the capital San Salvador. The Venezuelans were held separately from the local prison population in "Pavilion 8" -- a building with 32 cells, each measuring about 100 square meters (1,076 square feet). Each cell – roughly the size of an average two-bedroom apartment – was designed to hold 80 prisoners. The men had their heads shaved and were issued with prison clothes: a T-shirt, shorts, socks, and white plastic clogs, news agency AFP reported. Mervin Yamarte, who had left Venezuela with his younger brother, hoping for a better life, told AFP a small tuft of hair was left at the nape of his neck, which the guards tugged at. For four months, the prisoners had no access to the internet, phone calls, visits from loved ones, or even lawyers. The men never saw sunlight and were allowed one shower a day at 4:00 am. If they showered out of turn, they were beaten. At least one said he was sexually abused, AFP reported. The men also claimed they slept mostly on metal cots, with no mattresses to provide comfort. There were several small, poorly-ventilated cells where prisoners would be locked up for 24 hours at a time for transgressions -- real or imagined. "There were fellow detainees who couldn't endure even two hours and were carried out unconscious," Yamarte recounted. Andy Perozo, 30, told AFP of guards firing rubber bullets and tear gas into the cells. For a week after one of two riots that were brutally suppressed, "they shot me every morning. It was hell for me. Every time I went to the doctor, they beat me," Perozo said. Edwuar Hernandez, 23, also told of being beaten at the infirmary. "They would kick you... kicks everywhere," he said. "Look at the marks; I have marks, I'm all marked." The detainees killed time playing games with dice made from bits of tortilla dough. They counted the passing days with notches on a bar of soap. An estimated eight million Venezuelans fled the political and economic chaos of their homeland to try to find a job in the United States that would allow them to send money home. Yamarte left in September 2023, making the weeks-long journey on foot through the Darien Gap that separates Colombia from Panama. It is unforgiving terrain that has claimed the lives of countless migrants who must brave predatory criminal gangs and wild animals. Yamarte was arrested in Dallas in March and deported three days later, without a court hearing. All 252 detainees were suddenly, and unexpectedly, freed on July 18 in a prisoner exchange deal between Caracas and Washington. "The suffering is over now," said 29-year-old Mervin Yamarte, enjoying a longed-for moment of catharsis. On entering the sweltering Caribbean port of Maracaibo, the first thing Yamarte did after hugging his mother and six-year-old daughter was to burn the baggy white prison shorts he wore during four months of "hell." "The suffering is over now," replied Mervin. "We've come out of hell," another ex-detainee said. Many of the men believe they were arrested in the United States simply for sporting tattoos wrongly interpreted as proof of association with the feared Tren de Aragua gang. Yamarte has one that reads: "Strong like Mom." "I am clean. I can prove it to anyone," he said indignantly, hurt at being falsely accused of being a criminal. "We went... to seek a better future for our families; we didn't go there to steal or kill." Many are now contemplating legal action.
