Tag

#CECOT

El Salvador's Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Terrorism Confinement Center), a mega-prison. Incidents involve transfer of U.S. deportees to CECOT and conditions that constitute cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

6 incidents

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Deported to El Salvador Despite Withholding Order

Federal officials removed Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador despite a preexisting withholding order barring that destination, then spent weeks litigating what it meant to 'facilitate' his return after the Supreme Court intervened. Returned in June 2025 to face criminal charges, he was released from ICE custody in December 2025, and the criminal case was dismissed in May 2026 as vindictive prosecution; the Justice Department has appealed.

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Secret Deportation of 252 Venezuelans to CECOT Mega-Prison

252 Venezuelans were secretly deported to CECOT, where HRW documented torture, sexual violence, prolonged incommunicado detention, and denial of basic necessities. At least 48.8% had no criminal history in the United States, and at least 62 had asylum cases pending. All 252 were sent to Venezuela in a July 18, 2025 prisoner exchange.

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Forced Disappearances of Salvadoran Deportees in El Salvador's Prison System

Systematic forced disappearances of Salvadoran nationals deported from the US, held incommunicado in Salvadoran prisons including CECOT with no access to lawyers, families, or courts. The US is accused of breaching non-refoulement by deporting people to a system that human rights groups document as practising enforced disappearance. Amnesty International has said El Salvador's state-of-exception abuses could amount to crimes against humanity.

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Secret $6 Million Contract to Outsource Detention to El Salvador's CECOT

A secret $6 million contract enabled the US to outsource detention to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison, where HRW documented systematic torture. The unreleased agreement created an unprecedented mechanism to evade domestic legal protections by transferring detainees to a foreign torture facility.

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Second-Term Mass Deportations: Largest Enforcement Operation in U.S. History

The administration declared a national emergency at the border on January 20, 2025, and directed federal military and law enforcement resources toward immigration enforcement. ICE operations expanded significantly; worksite raids and community arrests became routine. The administration deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national with a U.S. court order protecting him from removal to El Salvador, to CECOT on March 15, 2025; a federal judge ordered the government to facilitate his return, and the Supreme Court upheld that requirement; the administration resisted for weeks before returning him on June 6, 2025 to face criminal charges in Tennessee. The ACLU and other organizations documented multiple U.S. citizens and green card holders wrongly detained. Trump characterized the deportation operations as removing 'the worst, most violent criminals' despite documented cases of individuals with no criminal history being targeted.