Venezuelans held in Salvadoran prison look to challenge deportation in US court

Venezuelans held in Salvadoran prison look to challenge deportation in US court

Reuters

Fri, December 26, 2025 at 11:54 PM UTC

2 min read

Venezuelans who where imprisoned in El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison give statements to the press, in Caracas, Venezuela, December 26. - Gaby Oraa/Reuters

A group of Venezuelans who were sent to a maximum-security El Salvador prison from the US and then returned to Venezuela called on Friday for the United States to comply with a ruling that would allow them to challenge their deportation in US courts.

US Judge James Boasberg ruled this week that President Donald Trump’s administration must urgently arrange for the return of the hundreds of Venezuelans who were deported to El Salvador, saying their expulsion violated their due process rights and that they have the right to challenge their deportation in court.

Under the ruling, the Trump administration must present a plan to allow their return within two weeks.

“The court ruling now orders that we be granted the opportunity for a fair hearing in accordance with the law in the United States,” Ysqueibel Peñaloza, a former detainee, said on behalf of some 252 former prisoners.

“We call on the governments of the United States and El Salvador to fully comply with the court order. We demand that the authorities of that country create the conditions that will allow us to participate in the hearing.”

Peñaloza asked for national and international help in their defense, without specifying what help they needed.

The Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador from the US in March after Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemy Act – a little-used wartime law – to deport people classified as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, without carrying out hearings or usual migration procedures.

Many lawyers and family members denied the men in question had any links to gangs and said they were often left in the dark about the location of the detainees.

The deportations drew strong criticism from human rights groups and spawned a legal battle with the Trump administration.

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