Migrants Trump Admin Sent to CECOT Allege They Were Physically, Sexually Abused

Several of the 252 recently released Venezuelan migrants the US deported to the El Salvador mega-prison known as CECOT have told mainstream media outlets they experienced physical, sexual, and psychological abuse at the hands of prison staff.

Physical and Psychological Abuse: Thirty-year-old Andy Perozo told BBC (Center bias) “beatings were part of the daily routine” and that he was hit with a rubber bullet near his eye. Another migrant told BBC guards “beat us until we bled” and that he and the other migrants “were hit as we were dragged off the plane.” Andry Blanco Bonilla told NBC News (Lean Left) that guards hit him with a baton when he told a prison doctor he had been beaten, and he alleged that the doctor made a false report about the injuries. Jerce Reyes told NBC that CECOT officials “encouraged us to commit suicide,” telling the migrants “this is how your whole nightmare ends.”

Sexual Abuse: Andry Hernandez Romero, a gay asylum-seeker who claimed to have fled Venezuela because of persecution for his sexuality, told NBC he was sexually abused in CECOT. He said guards “made me kneel, perform oral sex on one person, while the others groped me and touched my private parts,” and “stroked me with their batons.”

Official Response: The Salvadoran government has not commented on Hernandez Romero’s sexual assault allegations, according to both BBC and NBC. The US Department of Homeland Security did not comment on the released migrants’ allegations because they are “not U.S. citizens or under U.S. jurisdiction.”

How The Media Covered It: AllSides didn't find coverage from the right as of Wednesday afternoon.

Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.