Migrants from Venezuela detained at an El Salvador prison open up about the abuse they endured

In the weeks since the U.S. government released hundreds of Venezuelan nationals incarcerated at El Salvador’s infamous Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) and sent them back to their home country, several detainees have spoken out about the abuses they endured.

Times staff writer Kate Linthicum and special correspondent Mery Mogollón spoke to Jerce Reyes Barrios, a 36-year-old former professional soccer player, who left Venezuela last year and tried to apply for asylum at the Otay Mesa border crossing in California. He was among the more than 250 men accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua street gang and sent to CECOT by the Trump administration in March.

Reyes Barrios denies ever belonging to the criminal organization. His attorney, Linette Tobin, said in a court statement that her client was accused of being a gang member because of an arm tattoo that featured a soccer ball decorated with a crown — a nod to Spanish club Real Madrid CF.

He says the maltreatment began the moment they were removed from the plane.

“Welcome to El Salvador, you sons of bitches,” Reyes Barrios claims the prison guards told them. “You’ve arrived at the Terrorist Confinement Center. Hell on earth.”

Inside, Reyes Barrios said the men were constantly beaten. They were kept in overcrowded cells and slept on metal beds. They were hardly fed, were given contaminated water and were supervised by a sadistic staff.

“There was blood, vomit and people passed out on the floor,” he said.

Reyes Barrios’ account of what he experienced at CECOT is consistent with what other former detainees have described.

“The doctor would watch us get beaten and then ask us, ‘How are you feeling?’ with a smile,” Marco Jesús Basulto Salinas, a 35-year-old kitchen worker who had Temporary Protected Status, told the Washington Post. “It was the most perverse form of humiliation.”

Some of the worst abuse took place at a cell dubbed “La Isla.” It was there where Andry José Hernández Romero, a 31-year-old hairdresser who left Venezuela out of fear of being persecuted for being gay, says he was sexually assaulted.

Conditions inside CECOT were so bad that some detainees attempted suicide, while others contemplated it.

“I’d rather die or kill myself than to keep living through this experience,” 39-year-old Juan José Ramos Ramos told ProPublica. “Being woken up every day at 4 a.m. to be insulted and beaten. For wanting to shower, for asking for something so basic. ... Hearing your brothers getting beaten, crying for help.”

At one point, the men staged a hunger strike. When that didn’t work, some of them cut themselves and wrote messages on sheets and in the walls using their own blood.

“We wanted them to see we were willing to die,” Neiyerver Adrián León Rengel, another former detainee, told the Post.

After nearly four months of alleged abuse, the men were told that they were finally going home. Their release was part of a prison exchange deal — Venezuela agreed to free 10 jailed Americans.

“At that moment, we all shouted with joy,” Reyes Barrios said. “I think that was my only happy day at CECOT.”

The Times reached out to a spokesperson for Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, seeking comment, but did not get a reply. For its part, the Trump administration is refusing to acknowledge any wrongdoing.

“Once again, the media is falling all over themselves to defend criminal illegal gang members,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, told the Washington Post. “We hear far too much about gang members and criminals’ false sob stories and not enough about their victims.”

According to internal data obtained by ProPublica, the Trump administration knew that nearly 200 of the men sent to CECOT had not been convicted of crimes in the U.S.

Come hang out with us at the free Adrian Quesada Grand Performances concert!

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend that’s both fun and free, come join the De Los team at 350 S. Grand Ave. on Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m., as we co-present a Grand Performances concert headlined by Adrian Quesada.

The multi-instrumentalist will be performing songs from “Boleros Psicodélicos,” a duo of albums released in 2022 and 2025 that takes boleros — love ballads popular across Latin America — and injects them with a healthy dose of psychedelia. Every track on both records features a different singer, so performing “Boleros Psicodélicos” live is logistically difficult given Quesada’s lengthy list of collaborators. Joining him onstage on Saturday will be Gaby Moreno, Trish Toledo, Angélica Garcia, Mireya Ramos and one or two surprise guests. El Marchante and Explorare will kick the night off.

(Elana Marie / De Los)

The De Los team will have a booth at the event, where we’ll be giving out free posters and copies of our “De Los 101” zine for subscribers of the Latinx Files. We will also be raffling off tote bags!

You can RSVP here.

A quick programming note

Starting Monday, I’ll be going on paternity leave for two months. But fret not, for I leave you in the very capable hands of De Los writer Carlos De Loera — next week will not be his first rodeo.

Working on this newsletter has been one of the most fulfilling professional experiences I’ve had, and while I’ll miss it, I’m very much looking forward to having quality baby bonding time. I’ll return in time to write the Oct. 10 edition of the Latinx Files.

Stories we read this week that we think you should read

Unless otherwise noted, all stories in this section are from the L.A. Times.

Immigration and the border

• Two Mexican nationals held in a Florida detention center return home without charges.
• Trump boasts of deporting the “worst of the worst.” L.A. raids tell a far different story.
• California’s economy is already getting hit by immigration raids.
• How ICE is using the LAPD to track down immigrants for deportation.
• Fear of ICE raids is making heat intolerable for Southern California families.
• A dozen Democrats sue ICE for preventing detention center oversight visits.
• “We’ll see you in court”: L.A. County wants to bar ICE agents from concealing identity.
• How quinceañera dress sellers are trying to stay in business amid ICE sweeps. [LAist]
• Mexico’s Molar City could transform my smile. Did I want it to? [New Yorker]
• Elon Musk got his SpaceX company town. Will he soon regret it? [Texas Monthly]

Politics

• Under Trump, the future of U.S. Latino history preservation is uncertain.
• Tejano singer Bobby Pulido is considering running for Congress.
• Could Latinos upset the partisan redistricting strategy for California and Texas? [The Great Transformation With Mike Madrid]

Arts and Entertainment

• With her new EP “Ring Ring,”’ singer Niko Rubio captures the California she grew up in.
• After Dodger Stadium controversy, Nezza drops “El Pendón Estrellado” as a single and will donate proceeds to a South L.A. nonprofit and pro-immigrant rights groups.
• Latin Grammys 2025 predictions: Bad Bunny, Natalia Lafourcade and Rauw Alejandro among the front-runners.
• For your consideration: Indie artists who deserve Latin Grammys in 2025.
• For Jenna Ortega, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán, “Wednesday” proves “weird is beautiful.”

Food

• Gustavo Arellano: A new iteration of Taco María opens, in an unlikely place (spoiler alert: Wisconsin).
• Recipe: Andrew and Michelle Muñoz’s Barbecue Beef Ribs.