José Mora and Rafael Martínez are a pair of Venezuelan migrants. They spoke of their traumatic experience in El Salvador’s Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Cecot) after being deported from the United States in March. They were part of a group of 252 Venezuelans detained based on accusations of association with the infamously known criminal organization Tren de Aragua. Their heartbreaking stories paint a tragic picture of the abuse, neglect and cruel treatment they have endured while they were locked up.
When they arrived at Cecot, Mora and Martínez were met with brutal violence. Mora painted a visceral portrait of his traumatizing ordeal to find himself detached from the pack. He suffered a broken arm after being savagely beaten by at least eight guards. This kind of brutal treatment didn’t stop there. Both men testified to endless psychological and physical torture during their entire time.
Conditions in Cecot
Conditions inside Cecot were dire. Mora and Martínez described sleeping on cold metal bunks with no mattresses, having to sleep in the same small space with nine other detainees. The food ordeal was just as awful, as they only received meat-free meals 3 times a week.
“It was a nightmare. I heard many brothers asking for help, shouting, ‘Mom, help!’” – Rafael Martínez
You had limited access to showering, no more than once a day and at the inconvenient time of 4 a.m. The rules were rigorously monitored, and breaking them led to harsh punishment. Indeed, as José Mora declared, for the workers it was clear that any non-conformity would lead to a beating or starvation.
“When we protested, they shot at us point-blank with rubber bullets, point-blank into the cell,” – José Mora
The violence they suffered was not just physical, as the extensive psychological trauma often resulting from such abuses shows. Mora stated that a senior prison worker greeted him with a chilling remark:
“Welcome to hell. You will never get out of here. You will not see the light of day.” – José Mora
This short testimony describes the cruel climate that these migrants were living in at the time.
Allegations of Abuse and Neglect
The guards’ treatment of the detainees sinks far below mere negligence. Both men claim that they were not provided appropriate medical treatment and lack of due process. While at Cecot, they were subjected to physical assaults, threats, and humiliation.
As Mora recounts, the guards used different means of torture that inflicted physical and emotional scars. And he articulated the horror of what they were made to suffer, a terrifying inhumanity that I can hardly summarize, but here’s one of the worst passages:
“(The guards) tortured us physically and psychologically,” – José Mora
Here’s how Martínez describes the punitive treatment he received while ill. He went on to describe being punished because his efforts to escape pain by sticking his head through the bars of his cell. These extreme incidents serve to illustrate just how ingrained the culture of fear and control is in the facility.
Release and Aftermath
After months of mistreatment and torture, José Mora and Rafael Martínez were finally released on Friday. Their release was part of a larger United States-Venezuela prisoner exchange agreement. Their release raises questions about the broader implications of migrant treatment in detention facilities.
As they start to come to terms with what they’ve gone through, both soldiers look back at the harrowing experience they shared. The brutal conditions at Cecot are a reminder of what migrants endure at the hands of exploitative employers. They face overwhelming obstacles in their search for safety and a more prosperous future.
