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The Guardian
16 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Cemetery of the living dead': Venezuelans recall 125 days in notorious El Salvador prison
Arturo Suárez struggles to pinpoint the worst moment of his incarceration inside a prison the warden boasted was 'a cemetery of the living dead'. Was it the day inmates became so exasperated at being beaten by guards that they threatened to hang themselves with their sheets? 'The only weapon we had was our own lives,' recalled the Venezuelan former detainee. Was it when prisoners staged a 'blood strike', cutting their arms with broken pipes and smearing their bedclothes with crimson messages of despair? 'SOS!' they wrote. Or was rock bottom for Suárez when he turned 34 while stranded in a Central American penitentiary prison officers had claimed he would only leave in a body bag? Suárez, a reggaeton musician known by the stage name SuarezVzla, was one of 252 Venezuelans who found themselves trapped inside El Salvador's notorious 'Cecot' terrorism confinement centre after becoming embroiled in Donald Trump's anti-immigrant crusade. After 125 days behind bars, Suárez and the other detainees were freed on 18 July after a prisoner swap deal between Washington and Caracas. Since flying home to Venezuela, they have started to open up about their torment, offering a rare and disturbing glimpse of the human toll of President Nayib Bukele's authoritarian crackdown in El Salvador and Trump's campaign against immigration. Suárez said conditions inside the maximum security prison were so dire he and other inmates considered killing themselves. 'My daughter's really little and she needs me. But we'd made up our minds. We decided to put an end to this nightmare,' he said, although the prisoners stepped back from the brink. Another detainee, Neiyerver Rengel, 27, described his panic after guards claimed he would probably spend 90 years there. 'I felt shattered, destroyed,' said the Venezuelan barber, who was deported to Cecot after being captured in Irving, Texas. Trump officials called the Venezuelans – many of whom had no criminal background – 'heinous monsters' and 'terrorists' but largely failed to produce proof, with many seemingly targeted simply for being Venezuelan and having tattoos. Norman Eisen, the executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, which is helping Rengel sue the US government for $1.3m, called the 'abduction' of scores of Venezuelans a stain on his country's reputation. 'It is shocking and shameful and every patriotic American should be disgusted by it,' said Eisen, who expected other freed prisoners to take legal action. Suárez's journey to one of the world's harshest prisons began in Chile's capital, Santiago, where the singer had moved after fleeing Venezuela's economic collapse in 2016. One day early last year, before deciding to migrate to the US, Suárez watched a viral YouTube video about the 'mega-prison' by the Mexican influencer Luisito Comunica. Bukele officials had invited Comunica to film inside Cecot as part of propaganda efforts to promote an anti-gang offensive that has seen 2% of the country's adult population jailed since 2022. Suárez, then a fan of El Salvador's social media-savvy president, was gripped. 'Wouldn't it be great if we could afford a package tour to go and visit Cecot?' he recalled joking to his wife. Little did the couple know that Suárez would soon be languishing in Cecot's cage-like cells, sleeping on a metal bunk bed. After entering the US in September 2024, Suárez worked odd jobs in North Carolina. In February, three weeks after Trump's inauguration, he was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents and, in mid-March, put on a deportation flight, the destination of which was not revealed. When the plane landed, its passengers – who were instructed to keep its blinds closed – had no idea where they were. The penny dropped when one detainee disobeyed the order and spotted El Salvador's flag outside. 'That's when we understood … where we were heading – to Cecot,' he said. Suárez described the hours that followed as a blur of verbal abuse and beatings, as disoriented prisoners were frogmarched on to buses that took them to Cecot's cell block eight. Suárez said the men were forced to shave their heads and told by the warden: 'Welcome to hell! Welcome to the cemetery of the living dead! You'll leave here dead!' As he was dragged off the bus, Suárez, who is shortsighted, said he asked a guard for help because his spectacles were falling off: 'He told me to shut up, punched me [in the face] and broke my glasses.' 'What am I doing in Cecot?' Suárez recalled thinking. 'I'm not a terrorist. I've never killed anyone. I make music.' Rengel had almost identical memories of his arrival: 'The police officers started saying we were going to die in El Salvador – that it was likely we'd spend 90 years there.' Noah Bullock, the head of the El Salvador-focused human rights group Cristosal, said activists had heard very similar accounts from prisoners in other Salvadoran jails, suggesting such terror tactics were not merely the behaviour of 'bad apple prison guards'. 'There's clearly a culture coming from the leadership of the prison system to inculcate the guards into operating this way, [into] using dehumanising and physical abuse in a systematic way.' Suárez said the Venezuelans spent the next 16 weeks being woken at 4am, moved between cells holding between 10 and 19 people, and enduring a relentless campaign of physical and psychological abuse. 'There's no life in there,' he said. 'The only good thing they did for us was give us a Bible. We sought solace in God and that's why nobody took their own life.' The musician tried to lift spirits by composing upbeat songs, such as Cell 31, which describes a message from God. 'Be patient, my son. Your blessing will soon arrive,' its lyrics say. The song became a prison anthem and Suárez said inmates sang it, one day in March, when the US homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, visited Cecot to pose by its packed cells. 'We aren't terrorists! We aren't criminals! Help!' the Venezuelans bellowed. But their pleas were ignored and the mood grew increasingly desperate, as the inmates were deprived of contact with relatives, lawyers and even the sun. 'There came a point where we had no motivation, no strength left,' Rengel said. Only in mid-June was there a glimmer of hope when prisoners were given shampoo, razors and soap and measured for clothes. 'They obviously wanted to hide what had happened from the world,' said Suárez, who sensed release might be close. One month later the men were free. Suárez said he was determined to speak out now he was safely back in his home town of Caracas. 'The truth must be … heard all over the world. Otherwise what they did to us will be ignored,' said the musician, who admitted he had once been an admirer of Bukele's populist campaigns against political corruption and gangs. 'Now I realise it's just a complete farce because how can you negotiate with human lives? How can you use human beings as bargaining chips?' Suárez said. A spokesperson for El Salvador's government did not respond to questions about the prisoners' allegations. Last week, the homeland security department's assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, dismissed prisoners' claims of abuses as 'false sob stories'. Suárez hoped never to set foot in El Salvador or the US again but said he forgave his captors. 'And I hope they can forgive themselves,' he added. 'And realise that while they might escape the justice of man they will never be able to escape divine justice.' In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at


CNN
4 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Detainees released from mega-prison CECOT
Detainees released from mega-prison CECOT An estimated 252 Venezuelans who had been imprisoned at the CECOT prison in March were released and returned to their home country in exchange for 10 US nationals and dozens of Venezuelan political prisoners, US officials said. Detainees celebrated their arrival home but also spoke about the conditions they faced - causing the Venezuelan government to open a formal investigation into several Salvadoran officials, including President Nayib Bukele, over the alleged abuse of Venezuelan migrants deported from the US. 01:42 - Source: CNN Why are Thailand and Cambodia fighting? Tensions are rising between Thailand and Cambodia over a border dispute that dates back to 1907. CNN's Will Ripley explains how the conflict has escalated. 01:32 - Source: CNN CNN reports from Gaza aid crossing CNN's Nic Robertson is on the scene at the Kerem Shalom border crossing as aid agencies warn of rampant hunger caused by Israel's blockade of Gaza. Gaza's health ministry said on Tuesday that 900,000 children are going hungry, and 70,000 already show signs of malnutrition. Israel denies it is at fault and accuses Hamas of 'engineering' food shortages. 01:39 - Source: CNN Reopening the ancient tunnels 75 feet under Rome CNN's Ben Wedeman was given an exclusive tour of ancient tunnels underneath Rome's Capitoline Hill. The tunnels, which archeologists say were once filled with ancient Roman shops and taverns, are set to open to the public in late 2026 or early 2027. 02:02 - Source: CNN Ukraine sees first major anti-government protests since start of war Hundreds took to the streets after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a new law limiting the autonomy of anti-corruption agencies in his government. 01:03 - Source: CNN Peruvian police use superhero disguise during drug raid An agent in the Peruvian police force disguised themselves as the Mexican superhero character El Chapulín Colorado during a drug raid in the nation's capital of Lima. Police said six members of a criminal gang were captured and that cocaine paste, marijuana, cell phones, and money were seized. 00:38 - Source: CNN Distressing images show starvation in Gaza Distressing video footage shows a 41-year-old man in Gaza who died of starvation as humanitarian organizations urge for Israel to end its blockade of the enclave. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports. 01:57 - Source: CNN Small Irish town confronts its dark past Excavations of the remains of nearly 800 babies have begun at a former so-called mother and baby home in Tuam, Ireland. At least 9,000 infants and children died in more than a dozen of these institutions over the course of eight decades. 02:11 - Source: CNN Fire tornado rips through Turkish forest Turkey's forestry ministry has released video of a fire tornado tearing through the country's woodland. Hundreds of wildfires have gripped Turkey this summer, as well as Greece and other Mediterranean countries. 00:33 - Source: CNN Concerns grow over Australia's toxic algae bloom A harmful algae bloom off the coast of South Australia, caused by high sea temperatures and runoff from flooding, is poisoning marine life and depleting oxygen in the water. The Australian government has stated that there is little that can be done to reverse the rapid rate of the climate crisis. 01:10 - Source: CNN International visitors to US will pay new fee CNN's Richard Quest explains how the Trump administration enacted a bill that will require international visitors to pay a new 'visa integrity fee' of $250 dollars. The fee will apply to all visitors who are required to obtain nonimmigrant visas to enter the US. 01:36 - Source: CNN Mexico City residents furious over gentrification Mexico City saw its second anti-gentrification protest in less than a month on Sunday with demonstrators furious over rising prices in the city and the record number of foreigners applying for a resident visa. The main nationality of those foreigners seeking to move legally to the nation's capital? The United States of America. 01:11 - Source: CNN Child flees Israeli strike on Gaza refugee camp Video shows a child running away as Israeli munitions struck near a UNRWA school in Bureij Refugee Camp behind her. 00:36 - Source: CNN China cracks down on fake "Lafufu" Labubus Fake Labubu plush toys, dubbed "Lafufu," have gained popularity due to shortages of the original dolls made by China's Pop Mart. 02:05 - Source: CNN Jair Bolsonaro denies coup charges as police raid home Police in Brazil raided the home of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and enforced a ruling from the country's Supreme Court that Bolsonaro wear an electronic ankle tag. Bolsonaro is being accused of plotting to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election. 01:17 - Source: CNN Taiwan conducts 10-day military drill The Taiwanese government is preparing for a war they hope will never happen. For the first time this year, Taiwan combined two major civil defense exercises, with the drills lasting ten days. These drills have included urban combat, mass casualty simulations, emergency supply drops and cyber defense that could be enacted if an invasion was to occur. CNN's Senior International Correspondent, Will Ripley, reports. 01:44 - Source: CNN Deadly flooding grips South Korea for days South Korea has been ravaged for days by intense flooding that's left more than a dozen people dead. Reuters reported more than 16 inches of rain fell in one area in just 24 hours, citing the country's Interior and Safety Ministry. 00:48 - Source: CNN Brazil's Lula tells Christiane Amanpour: Trump 'Was not elected to be emperor of the world' Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview it was 'a surprise' to see President Donald Trump's letter posted to Truth Social, threatening Brazil with a crippling tariff of 50% starting August 1st. Lula says that he initially thought the letter was 'fake news.' Watch the full 'Amanpour' interview on CNN. 01:33 - Source: CNN Gaza's only Catholic church hit by Israeli strike Gaza's only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli tank, killing three and injuring many more, church officials said. It became internationally recognized after reports emerged that the late Pope Francis used to call the church daily. CNN's Nada Bashir reports 00:53 - Source: CNN Prince Harry recreates his mother's historic landmine walk Following in his mother's footsteps, Prince Harry visited Angola's minefields just as Princess Diana did 28 years ago. The Duke of Sussex was in Angola with The Halo Trust as part of the group's efforts to clear landmines. 00:39 - Source: CNN Massive fire destroys Tomorrowland's main stage Tomorrowland's main stage went up in flames just days ahead of the festival's opening in Boom, Belgium. 00:38 - Source: CNN How Trump's image is changing inside Russia Once hailed as a pro-Kremlin figure, President Donald Trump's image is changing inside Russia. It comes after Trump vowed further sanctions on the country if a peace agreement with Ukraine is not reached in 50 days. CNN's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent is on the ground in Moscow with the analysis. 01:41 - Source: CNN Who are the armed groups clashing in Syria? Dozens were killed in Syria this week after clashes between government loyalists and Druze militias in the southern city of Suwayda, prompting Syrian forces to intervene. That, in turn, triggered renewed Israeli airstrikes. 01:57 - Source: CNN Syrian anchor takes cover from airstrike live on TV An airstrike on the Syrian Ministry of Defense was captured live on Syria TV, forcing the anchor to take cover. Israel has been carrying out airstrikes on Syria as part of its commitment to protect the Druze, an Arab minority at the center of clashes with government loyalists. 00:30 - Source: CNN


New York Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Judge Demands Answers About Deal to Return MS-13 Gang Leaders to El Salvador
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to tell her more about a deal struck between the Trump administration and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador to imprison immigrants deported from the United States in a Salvadoran maximum-security facility in exchange for the return of top leaders of the MS-13 gang who are in U.S. custody. The order by the judge, Joan M. Azrack, came as she was considering a request by federal prosecutors on Long Island to dismiss sprawling narco-terrorism charges against Vladimir Arévalo Chávez, who is alleged to be one of those leaders, in preparation for sending him back to El Salvador. It remains unclear how the Justice Department will respond to Judge Azrack's demand for information, but her order could help pierce the veil of secrecy around the arrangement between Mr. Bukele and the Trump administration. That deal is at the heart of one of the White House's most controversial deportation efforts, which involved the expulsion in March of more than 200 Venezuelans to a prison built for terrorists in El Salvador. The Trump administration deported some of them by invoking a rarely used wartime law called the Alien Enemies Act. In exchange for taking the deportees, the Bukele government received millions of dollars from the United States, as well as the Trump administration's pledge to return top MS-13 leaders who are facing charges in federal court. An investigation by The New York Times found that the returning of the gang leaders to El Salvador was threatening a long-running federal investigation into the upper echelons of MS-13. Prosecutors had amassed substantial evidence of ties between the gang and the Bukele administration — and had been scrutinizing Mr. Bukele himself, The Times found. Judge Azrack recently said that U.S. government had detailed in court filings allegations of 'extraordinary and corrupt arrangements between MS-13 and the Salvadoran government.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.


BBC News
5 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
'We lived through hell,' say Venezuelans released from mega-prison in El Salvador
"We lived through hell," says 29-year-old Mervin Yamarte as he steps into his mother's home, wiping away the tears and sweat drenching his face. He is one of four men from the neighbourhood of Los Pescadores in the city of Maracaibo, Venezuela, who were deported from the US to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (Cecot), a maximum-security jail in El returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has attempted to ramp up deportations of migrants. Many of them have been sent to Cecot, on allegations of criminality, under an agreement with El Yamarte and his friends - Edwuar Hernández Herrera, Andy Perozo and Ringo Rincón - spent four months in the notorious mega-prison before being released in a prisoner exchange last four have told BBC News Mundo that during their months in captivity they were subjected to beatings and treated "like animals", including being made to eat with their BBC has approached the Salvadorean government for a response to the allegations, but has not yet received a response. Its president, Nayib Bukele, has previously denied such allegations, which have been used by the Venezuelan government to attack him amid an ongoing exchange of accusations. Venezuela is currently facing an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over allegations similar to those it is levelling at El Salvador. Migrants tortured in El Salvador, Venezuela says As part of the prisoner deal that was struck by the governments of the US, Venezuela and El Salvador, a total of 252 Venezuelans were flown from Cecot to the Venezuelan capital, Venezuelans released from Cecot in El Salvador last week were originally deported from the US under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act - a law that was written to allow the removal of individuals who are not US citizens in times of war or act was controversially invoked earlier this year by Trump as part of a sweeping effort to deport alleged gang US authorities accused the deported individuals of being members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua criminal gang, and argued that they were "conducting irregular warfare" in the the four deportees who spoke to BBC News Mundo in Los Pescadores have denied any links with the Tren de said they were arrested in Texas for alleged immigration offenses after mistakenly being identified as gang members because of their tattoos. In their hometown, following their incarceration in Cecot, the return of the four men was celebrated with joyous abandon. When they finally arrived at 16:15 local time on Tuesday, after a 15-hour bus journey from the capital, a noisy caravan of motorbikes sounded their horns to welcome them. "Volver a Casa" (Returning Home), a song which has become an anthem for returning Venezuelan migrants, was also blasting at full Yamarte, who worked in a tortilla factory in Texas when he was detained, was welcomed by his family at his mother's relatives had decorated the place with balloons in the yellow, blue and red of the Venezuelan flag and had bought him an array of presents - including a watch, a couple of bottles of aftershave and chocolates. But as Mr Yamarte entered the home, carrying his six-year-old daughter in his arms, he recalled the physical and psychological abuses he says he suffered at Cecot. "The prison director told us that whoever entered [the prison] would never come out," he Yamarte said the guards forced inmates to eat "like animals", using their hands while sitting on the added that they were hit "frequently" and not given anything to clean themselves Monday, Venezuela's Attorney-General, Tarek William Saab, denounced the use of "systemic torture" at Cecot, which he said included sexual abuse, daily beatings and giving inmates rotten announced Venezuela would investigate President Bukele, as well as Justice Minister Gustavo Villatoro and Head of Prisons Osiris Luna Meza, over the alleged replied on X, writing that "the Maduro regime was satisfied with the prisoner exchange, that's why they accepted it".Referring to the fact that the prisoner exchange included the release of all the US nationals held in Venezuela, Bukele added that "now they shout and are indignant, not because they disagree with the [prisoners'] treatment, but because they realise they are left without any hostages from the most powerful country in the world". Since it was opened in 2023, Cecot has come under repeated and heavy criticism by rights groups over its treatment of inmates, in particular the high number of prisoners per cell and the harsh conditions they are subjected to. Prison officials insist it meets international standards. But that is not the experience Andy Perozo said he had. "Beatings were part of the daily routine," he told BBC News Mundo at his parents' house in Los 30-year-old said he was hit by a rubber bullet near his left eye during his time at Cecot. He alleged that the prison authorities would only feed and clothe the inmates well in the immediate run-up to visits by Red Cross delegates, and in order to "take photos" that would let the prison appear in a good light. Inside El Salvador's secretive mega-prison Mr Hernández Herrera, at 23 the youngest of the four detainees from Los Pescadores, was welcomed home by his mother, Yarelis. She said she spotted her son getting off the plane at Maiquetía airport, outside Caracas, on Friday. About a dozen neighbours had gathered in front of the TV to watch the broadcast of the arrival of the two planes from El Salvador. "It was as if we were watching a football match what with all the crying and shouting," she recalled. "You'd have to be made of stone not to cry."Next to the entrance of her home, hung a poster with Mr Hernández Herrera's photo and the words "Welcome home, my love!".Below the photo, a message for him: "You know, your mother never gave up on you, nor did your family." Inside, sipping a beer, Mr Hernández Herrera said he, too, suffered "torture" inside Cecot, adding that he was "shot at" with rubber bullets four times. "The beds were metal, I didn't know if it was better to sleep or stay awake," he said, adding, "we never saw a lawyer or a judge."Mr Rincón, 39, speaking to BBC Mundo sitting with his mother and children, also said he was the victim of abuse, which he alleged started as soon as they arrived in El Salvador. "They beat us until we bled. We were hit as we were dragged off the plane, made to walk hunched over, tied up with up to five shackles."He told the BBC that he plans to lodge an official complaint about his treatment inside Cecot through the Venezuelan Attorney-General's office. Another Venezuelan man is already taking action against the US government for sending him to his own description of conditions inside the prison, Andy Perozo told BBC Mundo that the Venezuelan inmates rioted twice after finding out that one of their own had been seriously blamed one particular guard, a man the inmates dubbed "Satan", for the majority of the abuse. But when the topic of conversation turned to his children, Andy Perozo smiled. He hugged them as he posed for a group photo. "I hardly recognise them, they're so big now," he jokes. Asked about his plans for the future he said: "Not leave the country again and work."


San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Labor rights group asks El Salvador's supreme court to strike down contentious 'foreign agents' law
SAN SALVADOR (AP) — A labor rights group in El Salvador on Thursday asked the country's Supreme Court to strike down a contentious 'foreign agents' law promoted by President Nayib Bukele, which critics have said is intended to silence dissent. The law, passed in May, imposes a 30% tax on funds or donations received from foreign organizations, often a crucial source of funding for human rights, news and watchdog organizations that have repeatedly challenged the government. The passing of the law comes amid a wider crackdown by the government on dissent, which has forced more than a hundred people to flee the country in political exile in recent months. In addition to the steep tax, the law requires all organizations operating in the country that receive foreign funding to register with a new government body, which would have broad authority to determine compliance requirements. Critics say that would make it easier for the government to shut down civil society groups and criminalize dissenters and mimics legislation used by governments like Russia, Venezuela and Nicaragua. On Thursday, leaders of the Movement for the Defense of the Rights of the Working Class (MCDT) filed a complaint with the country's Supreme Court, claiming the law violates more than a dozen articles of the Salvadoran constitution. 'The law seeks to criminalize individuals and organizations that defend human rights, like Ruth López, Enrique Anaya, and others who have publicly denounced human rights abuses and alleged acts of corruption by officials in the current administration,' said Silvia Navarrete, a representative of the group, referring to two recently jailed lawyers. Another MCDT leader, Morena Murillo, said the legislation targets organizations that challenge the government by documenting rights violations and criticizing what she described as the erosion of democratic institutions and the separation of powers. The legislation applies to any person or organization—Salvadoran or foreign—conducting activities in El Salvador that are influenced, financed, or directed, directly or indirectly, by foreign interests. Roughly 8,000 organizations operate in El Salvador, though not all are registered with the Ministry of Governance. Recently, Cristosal — one of Bukele's most prominent critics — announced it was leaving the country, citing mounting legal threats and harassment by the Salvadoran government. The decision came after its lead anti-corruption attorney, Ruth López, was jailed in June on corruption charges, which she denies.