El Salvador says Trump admin controls migrants in notorious CECOT prison

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-admin-migrants-cecot-prison-el-salvador-venezuela-2095727

34 comments

  1. By Gabe Whisnant — Breaking News Editor |

    The government of El Salvador told United Nations investigators that the Trump administration retains control over a group of Venezuelan men deported from the U.S. to a controversial Salvadoran prison—contradicting public claims made by officials in both countries.

    The admission appears in new court filings by attorneys for more than 100 migrants contesting their deportation to the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a high-security facility infamous for alleged human rights abuses. Salvadoran authorities, responding to questions from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that “jurisdiction and legal responsibility” for the detainees rests solely with U.S. officials. The deportations occurred in March, despite a judge’s order to halt the flights.

    The Trump administration has argued that the men are now outside U.S. legal jurisdiction and no longer protected by constitutional rights. However, lawyers for the deportees say the U.N. response undermines that claim.

    Read more: [https://www.newsweek.com/trump-admin-migrants-cecot-prison-el-salvador-venezuela-2095727](https://www.newsweek.com/trump-admin-migrants-cecot-prison-el-salvador-venezuela-2095727)

  2. So when his admin said he had no authority to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back they lied

    Cool, so perjury under oath for several DOJ lawyers

  3. misread it as “EPCOT” and thought “so that’s what’s in the big golf ball thing”

  4. I actually didn’t expect them to start distancing themselves from this, public sentiment must be crazy

  5. So our own country is responsible for the cruel and unusual treatment these migrants are receiving at CECOT? Trump is a sadist.

  6. *Salvadoran authorities, responding to questions from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that “jurisdiction and legal responsibility” for the detainees rests solely with U.S. officials.*

    Why am I not surprised by this?

  8. There were only ever 2 ways to see this:

    1. The men were under the custody of the US govt and that detention was being carried out by El Salvador as a contractor.

    Or

    2. The men were kidnapped and sold to El Salvador.

    If the Trump admin really wants to deny the first, then let them go before the court to answer for the second.

    There is not some legal loophole through which Trump can commit human trafficking on an enormous scale and NOT break both US and international laws.

  9. So the US government is responsible for the inhumane torture and beating of those it extrajudicially deported to a foreign death camp. 20 years ago this would have meant immediate impeachment and removal from office. It doesn’t anymore because Republican voters hear this and say hell yea

  10. They’re paying El Salvador, so you’d have to think they have control over what that cash gets them. Plus, I believe the dictatorship regime in El Salvador more than I believe the wannabe dictator here in the US. As said as that is to say.

  11. It’s not a prison if many of the inhabitants weren’t even convicted of a crime. It’s a concentration camp.

  12. Nope. Kilmar Abrego Garcia detailed very specifically how he and others were tortured. President Bukelle is not without sin. In fact, he’s more responsible than Trump because he knew before Trump started sending illegal immigrants there that’s what CECOT does.

  13. I’m sure the Trump admin will happily admit they have jurisdiction when the moment requires, but then admit they don’t have control a few minutes later when the next conversation is better handled by them not having jurisdiction.

  14. This is going to be huge in Garcia v. Noem where she previously could have at least had some deniability about the conditions in the prison. Fuck this fascist admin.

  16. Just liek how Germany controlled concentration camps in Poland.

  17. This is bs because the el salavdor government gave an offer to Venezuela to return all of their people from cecot in exchange for releasing prisoners.

    El Salvador governement just want to distance themselves from kowingly imprisoning and torturing innocent people. Both the US and El Salvador are guilty of crimes against humanity. Even admitting to knowingly jailing innocent people from el Salvador when they separated the gang members from the non gang members according to Garcias testimony.

    They know what they are doing is wrong.

  18. CYA? El Pais story 6/27: The agreements reached by [various Central American countries](https://english.elpais.com/usa/2025-05-10/trumps-deportation-machinery-asian-african-and-russian-migrants-expelled-to-latin-america.html) to receive migrants deported from the United States are running into new legal obstacles. In El Salvador, a letter signed by 12 U.N. experts and made public this week urgently calls on President Nayib Bukele to explain the legal and health status of 238 Venezuelans held since March 15 in his maximum-security prison, CECOT. **The letter warns that he could be committing crimes of torture and** [**enforced disappearances**](https://english.elpais.com/usa/2025-05-06/juanita-goebertus-hrw-deportations-to-el-salvador-meet-the-legal-definition-of-enforced-disappearance.html)**.**

  19. These fuckers need to be sent to prison for their lies. How many people did they send to the foreign torture prison? How many families were ripped apart because Trump and his administration consider themselves above the law?

    Fuck Trump and all of his enablers 

  20. > Salvadoran authorities, responding to questions from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that “jurisdiction and legal responsibility” for the detainees rests solely with U.S. officials. The deportations occurred in March despite a judge’s order to halt the flights.

    I can’t wait to see how Trump reacts to this. I’m imagining he will end TPS for thousands of Salvadorans.

  21. This is like the CIA’s rendition program except that it’s not a couple dozen people with vague terrorist associations it’s a couple thousand people swept up with no intelligence or judicial review.

    The Bush Admin was the thin end of the wedge for Trump’s Fascism.

  23. SCOTUS Respose:

    “Remember children, even if what Trump is doing is blatantly unconstitutional and illegal, any judge that tries to stop him is overstepping their authority. We are a nation of laws after all, you must do these things the right way! When the case gets to us of course we will stop illegal things. We’ll get to it right after we complete the rapid fire decisions for rich oligarchs and right-wing think tanks utilizing our express-lane rocket docket (don’t ever question our decisions peasants)”

  25. Now that one person who was there is claiming in open court he was tortured in open court, the last thing El Salvador wants is for the next US president to blame El Salvador for everything that inevitably comes to light.

  26. Hoping the bureaucracy is keeping records so if we ever get control of the country again people can be prosecuted.

  27. Exactly. Trump paid them to take the prisoners. He absolutely has control. How is a prison in a foreign country to avoid US courts legal in the first place?

  28. It’s so fucking infuriating that the Trump administration and now their allies change up their story depending on the audience, and in this case BOTH administrations are like “what do you mean? We have no legal authority lol” and the court systems are like “well, I guess that settles it! They wouldn’t just blatantly lie to us!”

  30. And the Trump admin says El Salvador has control. That way, no one is really responsible.

  31. Next administration needs to depose this dictator by any means, including ground invasion if necessary.

    He is complicit in crimes against humanity and he should be tried in the Hague along with Trump.

  32. Lie. Lie, and lies some more. That’s all the American Nazi party does. 

  34. This was obvious from the start, Bukele has been an allied of DJT from years ago, with the embassador from Trump they were pals, from time to time even published pictures of them eating out.

    By the time of the Biden embassador, he and social media accounts where going in conflict with the US and trying to say the embassador should stick to her lane.

    On his illegal and probably cheated reelection of Bukele, Donald jr and Matt Gaetz were there (I think there was a third person assisting from the MAGA side) to his second inauguration.

    They are allies and its a fact that the whole power and money is coming from the US, Bukele will do whatever they need.

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