Hundreds of Venezuelan migrants accused of gang affiliations were freed from El Salvador’s CECOT prison and returned home as part of a Venezuela-US prisoner exchange.
Hundreds of Venezuelans detained in a high-security Salvadoran prison under US President Donald Trump’s immigration policy were released and returned home on Friday, ending a months-long ordeal that drew international scrutiny.
A total of 252 men were accused, without any presented evidence, of being gang members and were transferred last March to El Salvador’s controversial CECOT “anti-terror” facility. There, they were shackled, had their heads shaved, and were publicly paraded, becoming a symbol of Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown.
The men’s release was part of a negotiated prisoner exchange between the United States and Venezuela. According to officials, the migrants were returned in exchange for 10 Americans or US residents held by Venezuelan authorities, along with an unspecified number of so-called “political prisoners.”
“Today, we have handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country,” Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced via social media.
Upon arrival at an airport near Caracas, the Venezuelan nationals were greeted with emotional scenes from family members who had gone months without hearing from their loved ones.
“I don’t have words to explain how I feel!” said Juan Yamarte, whose brother Mervin was among the freed men. Their mother told AFP, “I arranged a party and I’m making a soup,” expressing joy at her son’s return.
The migrants had been deported from the United States under rarely used wartime powers and were denied access to court proceedings or legal recourse during their detention.
