Venezuela says it is opening a formal investigation into several Salvadoran officials, including President Nayib Bukele, over the alleged abuse of Venezuelan migrants deported from the US.
Some 252 Venezuelans, who had been imprisoned at the notorious Cecot prison in March following their deportation, were released and returned to their home country on Friday in exchange for 10 US nationals and dozens of Venezuelan political prisoners, US officials said.
Venezuela has previously accused El Salvador of kidnapping the detainees after it agreed with the US to take them into custody. El Salvador claimed the detainees had ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, though immigration attorneys, advocates and family members have pushed back on that, claiming in many cases that the detainees had no criminal record.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab held a press conference Monday to address the alleged mistreatment, showing edited footage of some of the detainees talking about their experience at the prison. Saab said officials have gathered 123 complaints of abuse, including reports of sexual assault, torture and beatings by Salvadoran prison guards.
In one of the videos, a man says he was sexually abused.
In another, several detainees who claim to have been beaten and shot at with pellets and pepper spray show what appear to be bruises and scars all over their bodies.
CNN cannot independently verify the extent of the injuries, when they were sustained, or whether the men were speaking under duress. It has reached out to the Salvadoran presidency for comment.
In the past, the Bukele administration has said it respects the human rights of those in custody “without distinction of nationality” and that its prison system meets safety and order standards.
Venezuela has itself faced accusations of abuse in its prisons, but its government insists it respects the rights of inmates.
The released migrants have not yet been reunited with their families in Venezuela. Authorities say they are undergoing health, immigration, and criminal background checks, among other procedures – a routine process for deportees returning to the country.
Two relatives of the ex-detainees told CNN they were still waiting for Venezuelan officials to hand them over to their families. One relative said her nephew could be handed over today. CNN has not had access to any of the released Venezuelans.
The migrants arrived at Simón Bolívar International Airport close to Caracas on two flights that departed from El Salvador, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said.
Families of the ex-detainees told CNN on Friday that they were excited about their return.
Mariyin Araujo, the wife of Jerce Reyes, said she was “overjoyed.”
“My two daughters are super happy; they are really anxious and cannot wait to see their father,” she said on Friday.
Blanca Martínez, the partner of another former Venezuelan detainee, Miguel Ángel Rojas, told CNN she was thrilled that she would hear from him for the first time in four months.
“To think that we will be able to hear him … it excites me,” she said. “I’m happy, happy for him, his son, his mom, his dad, his whole family.”
CNN’s Osmary Hernández and Merlin Delcid contributed to this report.
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