Deportees sent by Trump to Salvadoran prison are still stuck a year later

"The next time he set foot in his native country was more than a decade later, on March 15 of last year, when the Trump administration deported the 21-year-old alongside more than 260 migrants to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, an infamous megaprison known for human rights abuses that is completely cut off from the outside world."

"Sigaran has no known criminal record in El Salvador. But for an entire year, he has remained imprisoned with no access to a lawyer, no contact with his family and no prospect of a trial before a judge, according to human rights lawyer Kelvi Zambrano."

"The majority of the migrants sent to CECOT were Venezuelans who the Trump administration said were members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuela-based gang - often without presenting evidence or offering a chance to contest the claim."

Brandon Sigaran Cruz was brought to the United States at age 9 to escape gang recruitment in El Salvador. Over a decade later, at 21, he was deported by the Trump administration to CECOT, El Salvador's infamous megaprison, alongside more than 260 other migrants. Despite having no known criminal record, Sigaran has remained imprisoned for a year without access to legal counsel, family contact, or judicial proceedings. The deportations occurred under a Trump-Bukele agreement targeting migrants allegedly affiliated with gangs. Most deported individuals were Venezuelans claimed to be Tren de Aragua members, though evidence was often absent. After four months, Venezuelan detainees were released in a prisoner swap. The U.S. also deported Salvadorans, including cases later deemed erroneous by courts.

Read at The Washington Post