Three Venezuelan men sent to the notorious prison in El Salvador by the Trump administration have alleged that they were tortured, with one claiming he was sexually assaulted, according to NBC News.
The men spent four months at the Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT, allegedly being subjected to beatings, leaving bruises and cuts. They also reportedly experienced psychological abuse and were denied things like food and access to bathrooms.
In March, the Trump administration sent roughly 250 Venezuelan men deported from the U.S. to CECOT amid accusations that they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang, which has been rejected by many of the men as well as their families and attorneys. A prisoner swap recently saw most of the Venezuelans being held at CECOT freed.
The three men who spoke to NBC News were released and taken to Venezuela on July 18 as part of a prisoner swap with the U.S.
Andry Hernandez Romero, 32, is a gay asylum-seeker from Venezuela. He told the network that during his time at CECOT, he was taken to solitary confinement, where staff members “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.”
He added that the guards wore masks and the room didn’t have artificial light in the room, with light only coming in via a hole in the ceiling.
“I didn’t want to eat. I didn’t want to do absolutely anything,” he told NBC News. “The only thing I did was stay laying down, look at the toilet, remember my family, asking myself a million questions.”
Hernandez noted that if detainees attempted to complain about abuse, they would often end up being beaten by guards.
The Salvadoran government has previously said it follows safety and order standards, while the CECOT director told CNN that “the whole operation is based on strict respect for human rights.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security pointed to the Salvadoran government for comment, telling NBC News the men were “not U.S. citizens or under U.S. jurisdiction.”
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told NBC News when asked whether the U.S. would continue to send people to CECOT that “whether it is CECOT, Alligator Alcatraz, Guantanamo Bay or another detention facility, these dangerous criminals will not be allowed to terrorize U.S. citizens.”
President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “are using every tool available to get criminal illegal aliens off our streets and out of our country,” McLaughlin said. “Our message is clear: Criminals are not welcome in the United States.”
Last week, Neiyerver Adrian Leon Rengel was arrested outside his Texas apartment on the day he turned 27. He was deported to CECOT just two days later. He filed a complaint with DHS alleging that he “endured physical, verbal and psychological abuse,” such as routine beatings by guards using their fists and batons.
It’s the first legal action against the Trump administration following the prisoner swap that saw the release of more than 250 Venezuelans from the prison. Rengel is seeking $1.3 million in damages, including allegations of wrongful detention and personal injury. The claim is the initial step towards a lawsuit.
His allegations were echoed by the men who recently spoke to NBC.
“Our daily bread there as Venezuelans were beatings, threats. For whatever circumstance,” Hernandez told NBC News. “If you answer an official, they hit you. … If you talk, they hit you.”
“Every time they went to hit a large group outside, they would put us in the required position so we couldn’t see,” he added. “And to hear the moans, to hear how they were hitting the people was also very heavy.”
Andry Blanco Bonilla, 40, said he and other Venezuelans were verbally, psychologically and physically abused from the first day at CECOT.
“There were so many moments of anguish and terror,” he told NBC News in Spanish. “I feared for my life.”
He added that when they arrived at the megaprison, they were shackled tightly at the ankles, leading to cuts and bruises from walking. Punishments included being denied food and being prevented bathroom access.
Blanco Bonilla, an asylum seeker, said a prison official told the detainees, “Welcome to CECOT. Welcome to hell.”
“You will not be leaving here. Your days are over,” the official added, according to the former detainee.
“They tried to avoid hitting our faces. They kicked us in the back or ribs,” he told NBC News. “When they made us get on our knees, they would step on our toes with their boots. They hit us with batons, they hit us on the head.”
He said he was seen by a prison doctor who asked him why he had been hitting himself.
Jerce Reyes, 36, told the network that one guard urged detainees to “commit suicide.”
“This is how your whole nightmare ends,” the guard said.
“I did think about committing suicide at some point. But I thought about my two daughters, I thought about my family,” said Reyes.
