What’s more, the Salvadoran Supreme Court of Justice is facing extreme pressure at this moment. They should assess the legality of keeping 30 Venezuelans at the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) in El Salvador. The United States transmitted the migrants under supervision of the orders of then-President Donald Trump. Their arrival marked the added and disputed use of the anti-foreign Alien Enemies Act, a law otherwise restricted to use in wartime conditions. The peacetime usage of this act has now come under judicial scrutiny here in the United States.
According to news reports, the Venezuelan government has hired lawyers to intervene before the Constitutional Chamber of El Salvador’s Supreme Court. Jaime Ortega and his team of lawyers are working vigorously to encourage the court to reconsider the migrants’ classification. They want to reframe the migrants’ detention as an immigration issue, not a law enforcement issue. This already can lead to their repatriation if found to be essential.
“We are asking the court to review their legal status and issue a ruling. If their detention is illegal, it should immediately order their release,” stated Jaime Ortega.
The Venezuelans have for that, been locked up at Cecot, known as the largest prison in Latin Amerca. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele last week declared that authorities deported 238 persons. Their group as the alleged members of the only Tren de Aragua criminal organization. He failed to name names or supply any documentation to back up these allegations. At the same time, U.S. authorities have made it clear that deportees do not all have criminal records.
The National Commission on Human Rights and Freedom of Expression in El Salvador mentioned that families could petition the government for the release of their detained relatives. More recently, there has been alarm about the Salvadoran Supreme Court’s independence. Supporters and critics alike say that it is too closely aligned with President Bukele’s administration.
“Sadly, the Supreme Court in El Salvador doesn’t have any independence. It was completely co-opted by the Bukele administration. So, I think it’s sadly unrealistic to believe that they will do anything that the Bukele administration wouldn’t agree with,” remarked Juan Pappier.
As of Monday morning, U.S. authorities have agreed to calls for review of these detentions in seven separate cases. Andrés Guzmán, counsel for the relevant U.S. agencies involved in the agreement, guaranteed that each case would be handled with care.
“We will process each case and carry out the corresponding verifications,” Guzmán confirmed.
