MIAMI (AP) — Salvadoran nationals who were deported from the United States have been arbitrarily detained in El Salvador and have ended up missing within the country's prison system, according to a report issued by Human Rights Watch on Monday.
The report highlights cases of over 9,000 Salvadorans deported from the U.S. since President Donald Trump’s second term began in January 2025. These individuals were often deported alongside Venezuelans and sent to a mega prison in El Salvador, referred to as the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT), stated the human rights organization based in New York.
The specific number of those subjected to arbitrary detention remains unclear, but the organization interviewed 20 relatives and lawyers of 11 Salvadorans deported between March and October 2025 who were detained upon arrival. The detained individuals have reportedly lost all means of communication with their families, and were unable to consult with any legal counsel.
“They have a right to due process, to be taken before a judge, and their relatives are entitled to know where they are being held and why,” commented Juanita Goebertus, the Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Deportation cannot mean enforced disappearance.”
The Salvadoran Presidential Office did not respond to requests for comments regarding the report's findings.
Instances of detainees disappearing into El Salvador's prison system have alarmingly become routine since President Nayib Bukele declared a “state of emergency” in March 2022 to combat gangs.
This state of emergency has been extended for nearly four years, suspending crucial constitutional rights and leading to the detention of approximately 91,300 people. While Bukele claims that around 8,000 innocent individuals have been reinstated, the majority are being apprehended based on minimal evidence and vague charges. Due process appears virtually nonexistent, as detainees are frequently subject to mass trials and legal representatives routinely lose track of their clients.
Prison facilities have been accused of numerous human rights infractions, including physical abuse by guards, sexual misconduct, and deteriorating living conditions. Families of detainees suffer, often in vain, wondering if they will reunite with their loved ones.
The report states that Salvadoran authorities have provided no information suggesting that any of the detainees have appeared before a judge. Family members and legal representatives of some detainees remain unaware of their whereabouts or the reasons for their detention. In five instances, the only information relatives have obtained came through litigation at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Many deportees have families residing in the U.S., adding complexity to their situation. “I still know nothing about my son, nothing,” shared a mother of a Salvadoran who was deported March 15, 2025. “I want information. I want someone to tell me that my son is OK, that he’s alive.” She lives in Maryland without legal status and last heard from her 29-year-old son just days before his deportation. It took her six months after his deportation to ascertain his location through a photo posted by Bukele.
Another mother, residing in Texas and fearful of being arrested herself, explained her agonizing search for her son, who went missing after deportation. “I’ve never spoken to him. It’s total silence. We know nothing about him, we don’t know what’s going to happen,” she lamented.
The Trump administration continues to assert that many of the deported Salvadorans are tied to the MS-13 gang. However, only 10.5% of the roughly 9,000 deported had a recorded conviction for a violent or potentially violent offense in the U.S.
