Under the glare of harsh lights, 252 Venezuelan men spent four months inside El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security complex infamous for its brutality. Sent there by order of US President Donald Trump, the detainees say they were beaten, tortured, and humiliated under conditions that international forensic experts now describe as “compelling evidence” of systematic abuse.

The men were expelled from the United States in March and April under the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century law allowing the deportation of people from nations deemed "hostile". Trump accused them of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang allegedly linked to President Nicolás Maduro, calling their presence in the US an act of “irregular warfare".

But few of the deportees faced any criminal charges. According to a leaked list reviewed by The New York Times, only about 13 percent had serious criminal accusations. Of the forty former prisoners interviewed, only three had any record beyond immigration or minor offenses.

“They told us, ‘You are all terrorists. Terrorists must be treated like this,” Edwin Meléndez, 30, one of the deportees, told NYT.

'Welcome to Hell'

The men told NYT that they were tricked into believing they were being sent back to Venezuela. Instead, their plane landed in El Salvador, surrounded by helicopters and riot police. “They started hitting us all,” said Andry Hernández, 32, a makeup artist detained after crossing into the US in 2024. “Many had broken noses, split lips, bruises on their bodies.”

Video released by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele showed the men being dragged from buses in handcuffs, packaged with cinematic music and drone footage. “We continue advancing in the fight against organized crime,” Bukele wrote on social media. “But this time, we are also helping our allies.”

“Bukele hizo pacto con las pandillas”

El pacto: pic.twitter.com/u27db6mHji

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 10, 2025

Inside the prison, a labyrinth of cells holding 10 men each, prisoners said they were denied medical care, beaten with batons, and forced to kneel for hours in the “crane” position. They described a dark isolation chamber known as “the island”, where guards trampled, kicked, and waterboarded inmates.

“They put our heads inside a tank as if to drown us, then beat us with whatever they could find,” said Luis Chacón, 26, who attempted suicide during his detention.

'I was the Piñata'

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Meals consisted mostly of beans, rice, and spaghetti. Bathing was restricted to 4 am. Any violation meant punishment. “They stripped me naked and beat me while singing children’s songs,” recalled Francisco García Casique, 24. “They said I was the piñata.”

Those who protested faced worse. When guards released tear gas into cells, Andrys Cedeño, 23, an asthmatic, collapsed. “He said, ‘Boss, I can’t breathe,’ and the guard just laughed,” said another inmate. Believing Cedeño had died, the men began a hunger strike, slicing their bodies open with metal shards to write protest slogans in blood.

“We’re not criminals, we’re migrants,” one message read.

After four days, guards retaliated. Hernández, the makeup artist, said he was forced into the isolation room, where masked officers sexually assaulted him. “They touched me and laughed,” he said. “I screamed.”

A month later, an attempted rebellion erupted when inmates broke cell locks with metal rods. Guards fired rubber bullets at close range. Victor Ortega, 25, said a projectile struck his forehead. Others suffered wounds to their hands and thighs.

US praise; signs of torture

Despite mounting evidence of abuse, Trump praised El Salvador for its “successful and professional job” in jailing “criminals that entered our country.”

A White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, defended the deportations, saying Trump “is committed to removing dangerous criminal and terrorist illegal aliens who pose a threat to the American public.”

Independent forensic doctors who reviewed photographs and testimonies from 40 men said the consistency of their accounts and injuries “often indicates an institutional policy and practice of torture.”

A secret deal

By July, Washington and Caracas were negotiating a prisoner swap: Venezuela released 10 US citizens and residents, while the 252 Venezuelans in El Salvador were freed. Before their departure, guards distributed shampoo and toothpaste, cut their hair, and told them, “You have 20 minutes to bathe.”

“We all started crying,” said Jerce Reyes, 36, “because we knew we were leaving.”

Permanent scar

Now back home, many of the men struggle with nightmares, migraines, respiratory issues, and chronic pain they attribute to their months in CECOT, El Salvador’s sprawling “mega prison.”

Cedeño, the young asthmatic, has been hospitalized twice since his return. “At night I can’t sleep,” he said. “I still hear the handcuffs and the cell doors.”

In September, a US federal appeals court blocked further use of the Alien Enemies Act for mass deportations. But the ruling doesn’t prevent the administration from using other laws, meaning Trump could still expand his campaign to detain and transfer migrants to foreign prisons.

For men like Mervin Yamarte, 29, the experience left a permanent scar.

“I migrated to give my daughter a better life,” he said. “And it all went wrong.”