The Trump administration forbid any U.S. funds from being used to provide legal counsel to hundreds of Venezuelans sent to the notorious El Salvador megaprison known as CECOT, according to a newly-revealed deal between the U.S. and El Salvador.
The five-page agreement between the countries, secured by Democracy Forward in a lawsuit, placed no conditions on their treatment or care while in custody in a prison known for torture, but does bar the use of any funds for “legal counseling.”
The agreement was signed after the Trump administration sent roughly 200 Venezuelan men it accused of being gang members to be housed in the Terrorism Confinement Center known by its Spanish acronym CECOT.
The documents show the Trump administration had plans to send a larger number of Venezuelan men to the prison – as many as 300 – and paid El Salvador $4.76 million to do so.
“The correspondence between the U.S. State Department and El Salvador confirms what we have long suspected: the Trump-Vance administration did nothing to meaningfully ensure that individuals disappeared from the U.S. to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison were protected from torture, indefinite confinement, or other abuses,” Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, said in a statement.
“The agreement did, however, go to lengths to ensure that the funds the U.S. provided to El Salvador not be used to provide reproductive health care or to assist asylum seekers in accessing resources and counsel.”
The agreement released Tuesday shows the Trump administration planned to keep the men in CECOT for at least a year.
The Trump administration has been hammered in court over sending the Venezuelan men to the prison without any hearings or due process.
President Trump ignited the Alien Enemies Act in March, arguing the war time powers could be used to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without a trial.
The White House did not immediately publicize the order, and fearing imminent removal to an unknown location, some migrants sued.
Though a judge reviewing the case ordered flights to be grounded or turned around, the planes nonetheless landed in El Salvador.
A Justice Department whistleblower later revealed that one attorney appeared to mislead the judge in claiming he was unaware of the flights’ status. The whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, also said then-No. 3 Justice Department official Emil Bove, now a federal circuit court judge, said in a meeting that DOJ may need to be prepared to tell the courts “f–k you” if litigation blocked the flights.
Later litigation has largely frowned on Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, with some courts finding the law cannot be used to target gangs. Most recently, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals also found Trump exceeded the bounds of the law.
The Venezuelan men, many who have no criminal history, were returned to Venezuela in July through a prisoner swap agreement after spending roughly four months in CECOT.
It’s unclear whether the nearly $5 million was the total sum given to El Salvador.
Initial reporting put the figure at $6 million, while Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said during a trip to the country that he was told El Salvador would receive $15 million to house men.
Beyond Venezuelans, El Salvador also accepted Salvadoran nationals that the Trump administration accused of being members of MS-13.
That includes mistakenly deported man Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
