Trump deportees to El Salvador were tortured: rights groups

Venezuelan migrants sent by the United States to El Salvador were "tortured," subjected to sexual violence and other abuses in the mega-prison where they were held for four months, human rights groups have alleged.

The report, "They Arrived in Hell," was published by Human Rights Watch and Cristosal, a Central American NGO, on Wednesday.

It documents the transfer of 252 Venezuelans to the CECOT facility in March and early April.

The migrants were accused -- without evidence -- of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang.

Their transfer came from an agreement between US President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele involving the payment of millions of dollars.

After interviewing 40 of the Venezuelan detainees and 150 others linked to the cases, Human Rights Watch says the abuses were not isolated, but systematic.

The report alleges that detainees were kept in solitary confinement, with poor food, inadequate hygiene, and daily beatings. Three Venezuelans reported sexual violence.

One said four guards abused him and forced him to perform oral sex on each of them.

The report says the deportations amounted to enforced disappearances under international law.

About half of the migrants had no court sentences.

Only three percent had been convicted of violent crimes in the United States. At least 62 Venezuelans were expelled while their US asylum claims were still pending, family members and lawyers confirmed to Human Rights Watch.

In July, the migrants were repatriated in a prisoner exchange. Washington and Caracas also released 10 US citizens and around 80 political prisoners.

Cristosal closed its El Salvador office in July due to alleged repression by the authorities.