Two Venezuelan men, Luis Muñoz Pinto and Wuilliam Lozada Sanchez, claim they were deemed a threat over their tattoos and beaten in a maximum-security prison in El Salvador after being deported from the US.
The men, who had no prior criminal record, were among 252 Venezuelans sent to CECOT, a notorious prison known for its harsh conditions. They were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on their way to the US, where they were scheduled to attend asylum hearings.
When they arrived in El Salvador, the men were paraded in front of cameras and taken to CECOT, where they faced brutal treatment. According to Muñoz Pinto, the prison director told them that "welcome to hell, I'll make sure you never leave." The men reported being beaten with fists and batons, having their hands and feet tied, and being forced to spend hours in stress positions.
Muñoz Pinto described how he was beaten until he bled and had one of his teeth broken. He also reported being subjected to torture, including being urinated on by the guards. Lozada Sanchez detailed months of abuse, including being taken to an "island" cell where he was beaten every half hour.
The men claim that they were targeted because of their tattoos, which immigration officers suspected might be gang-related. However, criminologists say that tattoos are not a reliable way to identify Venezuelan gang members, as Tren de Aragua does not use tattoos to signal membership.
Human Rights Watch has documented systematic torture and abuse at CECOT, with nearly half of the Venezuelans deported there having no criminal history. The organization has also found that only eight of the men had been convicted of a violent or potentially violent offense.
The US government has invoked the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport these men, claiming they were part of a violent gang and designated as terrorists. However, Human Rights Watch and other experts say that this designation is baseless and that the men were being targeted because of their nationality and tattoos.
In July, after four months, the 252 Venezuelans were finally released from CECOT and sent back to Caracas in exchange for 10 Americans imprisoned in Venezuela. The Trump administration has arranged more deals with third countries to offload US deportees, some valued at millions of dollars, without providing access to complete records and criminal backgrounds.
A federal judge ruled that the US had maintained "constructive custody" over the Venezuelans, who were denied due process. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that holding remote hearings or allowing them to attend would risk damaging US foreign policy interests in Venezuela.
The case highlights concerns about the treatment of asylum seekers and immigrants in the US and its handling of deportation policies.
The men, who had no prior criminal record, were among 252 Venezuelans sent to CECOT, a notorious prison known for its harsh conditions. They were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on their way to the US, where they were scheduled to attend asylum hearings.
When they arrived in El Salvador, the men were paraded in front of cameras and taken to CECOT, where they faced brutal treatment. According to Muñoz Pinto, the prison director told them that "welcome to hell, I'll make sure you never leave." The men reported being beaten with fists and batons, having their hands and feet tied, and being forced to spend hours in stress positions.
Muñoz Pinto described how he was beaten until he bled and had one of his teeth broken. He also reported being subjected to torture, including being urinated on by the guards. Lozada Sanchez detailed months of abuse, including being taken to an "island" cell where he was beaten every half hour.
The men claim that they were targeted because of their tattoos, which immigration officers suspected might be gang-related. However, criminologists say that tattoos are not a reliable way to identify Venezuelan gang members, as Tren de Aragua does not use tattoos to signal membership.
Human Rights Watch has documented systematic torture and abuse at CECOT, with nearly half of the Venezuelans deported there having no criminal history. The organization has also found that only eight of the men had been convicted of a violent or potentially violent offense.
The US government has invoked the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport these men, claiming they were part of a violent gang and designated as terrorists. However, Human Rights Watch and other experts say that this designation is baseless and that the men were being targeted because of their nationality and tattoos.
In July, after four months, the 252 Venezuelans were finally released from CECOT and sent back to Caracas in exchange for 10 Americans imprisoned in Venezuela. The Trump administration has arranged more deals with third countries to offload US deportees, some valued at millions of dollars, without providing access to complete records and criminal backgrounds.
A federal judge ruled that the US had maintained "constructive custody" over the Venezuelans, who were denied due process. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that holding remote hearings or allowing them to attend would risk damaging US foreign policy interests in Venezuela.
The case highlights concerns about the treatment of asylum seekers and immigrants in the US and its handling of deportation policies.
this is just insane, these two guys get sent back to el salvador with no prior record and then they're treated like complete animals...tattoos or not, it's still not right that they were targeted because of them 
tattoos aren't a sign of gang membership, like the experts said. what's going on here is just wrong, human rights watch is all over this and its getting to be a habit for the us government to do shady stuff when it comes to deporting people 
. It's like, what even is the point of having laws against gang membership if you're gonna throw people in jail for getting inked? 
It's not like they did something wrong on purpose. They just got caught trying to start over in the US and get some help. 
And then the judge is all "oh yeah, we've been doing it this way for a long time" 
. Like, no, not good enough. We need better laws and better treatment for people in this situation.
We need to talk about this in school and make sure everyone knows what's going on.
And isn't it weird that they're saying they have no prior criminal record? Like, how are you gonna get a record if you never did anything wrong?
. Anyway, I just think these guys got a bad deal and we should be advocating for them or something 
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... anyway, back to these guys being deported and beaten in El Salvador... it's crazy how easily they could've been mistaken for gang members just because of their tattoos, you know? I mean, my friend has a similar tattoo, but he's totally not part of any gang, so I can see why the authorities would be wrong 
It just seems like a bunch of extra paperwork to justify their policies.
They were just trying to get asylum. Why make them go through all that trauma? 
And now we're talking about the US offloading deportees without proper records or backgrounds... it's like they're treating people as mere commodities, not human beings. 
how can ppl treat humans like animals? those guys were just trying 2 start a new life in the us but instead they got deported & tortured in some crazy prison in El Salvador 
It's like they were just targets because of their nationality. The Human Rights Watch has documented this kind of stuff, but it seems like no one cares until someone gets hurt... or in this case, almost hurts themselves 
. This whole thing stinks and needs to be looked into ASAP.
they just because Venezuela native 
and US government did same thing too 
, they deported them without thinking about consequence 
I mean, criminologists are saying that tattoos don't even prove anything about whether someone is part of a gang. It's all just a bunch of BS.
They're talking about "stress positions" and being urinated on by guards... it's just not right. And what's up with the US government using this Alien Enemies Act to deport people based on trumped-up charges? 
it's not right, these 2 guys didn't do anything wrong, they were just trying to escape the situation in Venezuela. 
and now they're being treated like terrorists in El Salvador? 
we need to make sure that asylum seekers are treated with dignity and respect, not brutalized because of their appearance or nationality. 
. We need more transparency and accountability in these situations.
they were deported from the US with no priors, just because they're Venezuelan and had ink on their skin 
criminologists say tattoos ain't a reliable way to identify gang members, but I guess that don't matter when you're already in a bad spot 
and now these guys are just lucky they got released after 4 months 
but without giving them any records or background checks 
it's like they're just treating people as commodities, not human beings 
we gotta make sure they get the protection and respect they deserve 
what's going on here?
.