For months they say they were beaten by prison guards, shot with pellets, taken from proper medical care, and refused a legitimate process inside El Salvador’s terrorist confinement centre.
“(These guards) tortured us physically and psychologically,” said Jose Mora, one of the 252 Venezuelan immigrants held at the infamous MegaPrison, known recently as CECOT, after being deported by the US.
“It was a nightmare. I heard many brothers yelling, ‘Mom, help!”, another detainee, Rafael Martinez.
Those four months of “nightmares” ended on Friday. El Salvador has agreed to release all 252 immigrants as part of a prisoner exchange agreement between the US and Venezuela.
Mora and Martinez are now reuniting with their Venezuelan families and talking about their experiences.
CNN contacted President Salvador to comment on his allegations of abuse, but has not yet received a response. In the past, the government has respected the human rights of people in detention “regardless of nationality,” and said its prison system complies with standards of security and order.
Records show that Martinez faces robbery charges in the United States, pleaded guilty and was released on bail before being arrested and sent to Salvador prison. Meanwhile, Mora was jailed in Venezuela for a crime related to drug possession and sentenced to him. In the US, official records show that he was subjected to a traffic violation.
Just as many other Venezuelan immigrants were sent from the United States to El Salvador, Mora and Martinez say they mistakenly accused U.S. officials of belonging to Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua. Despite their denial, they were deported from the United States in March.
Initially they thought they were going back to Venezuela, but as soon as the deportation plane landed they realized they had been sent to another country.
Salvador officials boarded the aircraft and ordered them to exit, they said.
“That’s where the abuse started,” Martinez said officials defeated them, kicked them out, and held their heads down as they escorted them to the bus.
They were then taken to CECOT, where the abuse continued, they told CNN. Once inside, they said they were forced to kneel on the ground as officers shaved their heads and confiscated their belongings, including jewels and US dollars.
Mora said to him, a senior prison worker, “Welcome to hell. You will never leave here. You will not see the light of the day.”
Suspicion of assault and hunger strike
The situation at MegaPrison was punished, the immigrants said.
They slept in a metal bundle without a mattress, shared cells with nine other people, ate the same meatless meal every day, and only showered once a day at 4am
Anyone who is beaten will be beaten or deprived of food, the former appellant told CNN.
Martinez claimed he was punished for placing his head at a cell phone bar when he felt sick. He was taken to another cell and said about eight security guards beat him and broke his right arm.
At one point, they decided that the prisoners had enough, so they launched a hunger strike demanding basic human rights as well as access to lawyers and press.
But the rebellion, according to Mora, was filled with a fierce reaction.
“When we protested, they point blanked us with rubber bullets and blew us into the cells,” Mora said. “We were like chickens and mice trapped inside…and they shot us with rubber bullets.”
I began to lose hope – until about a week ago when they said their treatment had suddenly changed.
The guards gave them new haircuts, “good” meals like burgers and pizza, and offered them new clothes.
“We thought something good would come,” Martinez said.
Certainly they had been released from prison. On Friday, they got out of their cell phones and took me on a bus to the airport. There, several planes were waiting for them to return to Venezuela.
Caracas and Washington have cast a contract to guarantee the release of all 252 Venezuelan immigrants from El Salvador in exchange for 10 American citizens and dozens of political prisoners held in Venezuela.
“We’re leaving,” Mora recalled one of his fellow brothers saying.
The migrants landed in Venezuela on Friday night and received several days of health, immigration and criminal history checks, among other procedures. This is the daily process of decorating back to the country.
By Monday night, some immigrants were gradually allowed to reunite with families across the country.
Mora and Martinez, who are currently at home, say they plan to return to their country and stay there to resume their lives and careers.
When asked if he would return to the US, Martinez said, “No, don’t accuse me of being a terrorist.”
“God has given me another opportunity,” he continued. “People have to use it…and move on.”
