An investigation by The Washington Post reveals harrowing accounts from migrants deported by the US who were unexpectedly sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, where they faced brutal treatment.

Julio Gonzalez Jr., a 36-year-old cleaner and house painter, had agreed to be deported to Venezuela and boarded a flight in Texas expecting to return home. Instead, the plane landed in El Salvador. Gonzalez and two other detainees described being violently forced off the aircraft after refusing to disembark. Shackled and disoriented, they were dragged by their feet, beaten, and pushed off the plane, while crew members reportedly wept. The men were then loaded onto buses and taken to a sprawling gray detention center, where guards forced them to kneel with their foreheads to the ground at gunpoint.

“The horror movie started there,” Gonzalez said on Tuesday.

“Welcome to El Salvador, you sons of b-----s,” a masked individual told them, Gonzalez recalled. They had arrived at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.

The US government has paid $6 million to President Nayib Bukele’s administration to detain hundreds of migrants deported under President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, many of whom, like Gonzalez, had no connection to El Salvador or a criminal record, in what is known as the world’s largest prison.

Abuse allegations inside CECOT

During the four months the men spent at CECOT, they said they were repeatedly assaulted. Gonzalez said that guards stole thousands of dollars from him and denied him legal counsel or phone access. Joen Suarez, 23, described being taken multiple times to a dark punishment cell called La Isla, where he said he was kicked, beaten, and verbally abused.

Angel Blanco Marin, 22, said he was struck so forcefully that he lost half of a molar. Despite repeated requests for medical attention and pain relief, he said he received nothing for over a month.

The three were among 252 Venezuelans released from CECOT and repatriated last week as part of a deal between the US and Venezuelan governments. In return, Venezuela freed 10 American citizens and lawful permanent residents.

Back in their home country, many former detainees reunited with family members they hadn’t seen in years. After 125 days cut off from the outside world, they began to reveal details of their ordeal.

“I practically felt like an animal,” Gonzalez said from his parents’ home. “The officials treated us like we were the most dangerous criminals on Earth. … They shaved our heads, they would insult us, they would take us around like dogs.”

Verifying claims, government response

Several elements, as per the report, aligned with the account provided by attorneys for Kilmar Abrego García, a Maryland resident deported in March and recently returned under court order.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson responded by stating that the US had deported “nearly 300 Tren de Aragua and MS-13 terrorists” to CECOT, adding that they “no longer pose a threat to the American people.”

“Once again the media is falling all over themselves to defend criminal illegal gang members,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “We hear far too much about gang members and criminals’ false sob stories and not enough about their victims.”

All three men denied any ties to gangs. Neither US nor Salvadoran authorities have offered evidence linking them to criminal organizations. A Salvadoran government spokesperson declined to comment, as per the report.

Arrival, conditions at CECOT

Upon arrival, the men said they were ordered to run hunched over without making eye contact. The shackles were so tight he could barely move, Suarez recalled. Blood from other detainees stained the floor.

They were forced to kneel tightly together. A man claiming to be the prison’s director addressed them as gang members and terrorists.

“This is hell,” Suarez remembered him saying. “And you’re never going to get out.”

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Inside the facility, detainees were crammed into cells with nine to fifteen people. The only furniture: metal benches used as beds. Thin mattresses were briefly provided for photos, then removed. Drinking and bathing were done using water buckets.

“It looked like a cage,” Gonzalez said.

Blanco said he vomited on his first day and had no clean shirt for several days. Eventually, detainees received soap and toothpaste, but not consistently.

Gonzalez described extreme heat by day and cold by night. Blanco said the cells reeked of urine and sewage.

'We are not terrorists. We are migrants'

Detainees were roused at 4 am to wash. If caught cleaning outside of designated times, Gonzalez said they were taken to a punishment cell, shackled to a chair, and beaten with sticks. Blanco said he could hear others screaming from down the corridor.

An attempted hunger strike in April worsened their treatment, Gonzalez said. Guards used rubber bullets and plastic pellets to subdue the protest. When they requested legal help, he said, guards responded, “That word doesn’t exist here.”

As an act of resistance, detainees used sharp metal pipes to cut themselves and wrote messages in blood on white sheets. Suarez said, “We are not terrorists. We are migrants.”

Meals consisted mainly of tortillas and beans, Gonzalez said. Occasionally, pancakes or hamburgers were served. There was no outdoor recreation space, and only corner cells had any exposure to sunlight, Suarez added.

“With time we all lost our fear because we were practically dead people living,” Blanco said. “We felt dead.”

CECOT’s Global Profile and Abrego’s Case

CECOT was launched in 2023 as a high-security prison intended to house top-level gang members. Few have left, and fewer still have spoken out.

Among them is Abrego, now back in US custody, whose deportation remains under legal dispute. His attorneys claim he and others were beaten and forced to kneel for nine hours upon arrival.

Although the Trump administration asserted the Venezuelans sent to CECOT were affiliated with Tren de Aragua, a review by The Post found many entered the US legally and complied with immigration procedures.

Some, like Abrego, had legal protections, including Temporary Protected Status or court-ordered protections against deportation.

Gonzalez’s journey to the US

Gonzalez once showed promise as a teenage baseball player, attending elite training academies in Venezuela, according to family.

As an adult struggling to find work, he journeyed to the US-Mexico border, waited months for a Customs and Border Protection appointment, and legally entered the US in April 2023. Upon entry, he was detained and accused of gang affiliation.

Held for a year, Gonzalez had no criminal history in any of the four countries he had lived in. ICE eventually released him to a sponsor in 2024. He wore an ankle monitor, attended regular check-ins, and worked in cleaning and painting jobs. He applied for asylum, later withdrew the claim, and attempted to reopen it unsuccessfully. He later applied for TPS.

He had not received a decision on TPS when he checked in with ICE in Tampa in October and was detained again. He signed papers agreeing to deportation to Venezuela. His family expected him home on March 13, but a storm grounded the flight the following day.

Gonzalez told his family he’d arrive in Venezuela the next day. “He relayed a message to me saying we would see each other soon,” his mother, Nancy Troconis, said. “They lied to us.”

By 9 am on March 15, all contact was lost. The family later discovered his name on a list of individuals deported to El Salvador.

Stealing life, inflicting torture: The dark reality behind forced deportations

One of the most painful moments for Gonzalez, he said, was losing his life savings. While in US custody, he had hidden $6,400 in his underwear. At CECOT, detainees were ordered to strip and change into uniforms, white boxers, socks, and sandals. After undressing, he never saw the money again.

The detainees said they were never informed of their legal rights or allowed to speak to lawyers. Red Cross officials visited twice, permitting them to write letters home. Venezuelans would also trade food with Salvadoran inmates to get updates from the outside world, Blanco said.

Toward the end of their confinement, the detainees noticed small luxuries: haircuts, Head & Shoulders shampoo, Gillette razors, and signs they might be released soon.

“They played with our minds,” Gonzalez said. “They tortured us mentally and physically. The whole thing is indescribable.”

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