GENEVA, (Reuters) – The United Nations has information that over 100 Venezuelans deported from the United States are being held at a high-security centre in El Salvador, where they face potential human rights violations, the U.N. human rights chief said on Tuesday.
The fate and whereabouts of at least another 245 Venezuelans and some 30 Salvadorans sent to El Salvador during U.S. President Donald Trump’s deportation drive remain unclear, the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) added.
“This situation raises serious concerns regarding a wide array of rights that are fundamental to both U.S. and international law,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.
He added that those deported to El Salvador had not yet been able to effectively challenge their detention.
The governments of the United States and El Salvador did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Venezuela’s government criticised Turk and the U.N. for not doing enough and having a “cowardly” attitude in the face of what it considers a violation of its citizens’ human rights.
Trump has invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport suspected members of criminal gangs, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, which his administration labels a terrorist group.
At least 142,000 people were deported from the U.S. between January 20 and April 29, according to OHCHR, citing official U.S. data.
OHCHR said information from family members and lawyers for deported Venezuelans indicated many are now detained at El Salvador’s Centre for Terrorism Confinement.
President Nayib Bukele offered to incarcerate criminals deported from the U.S. at the centre, a mega-prison, opens new tab intentionally isolated from urban areas that can accommodate up to 40,000 inmates.
Turk said detainees at the facility were being treated harshly and many had not been informed of U.S. authorities’ intention to deport them for detention in a third country.
The OHCHR said it is urging El Salvador’s government to grant it access to the centre.
Turk also urged the release of people arbitrarily detained in Venezuela in the wake of a crackdown that followed the country’s contested presidential election last July.
Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Joe Bavier, Alexandra Hudson
