PRESS RELEASE 

For immediate release 

Thursday, July 18, 2025

Contact: press@alianzaamericas.org / (773) 638-4278

Alianza Americas expresses its deep concern over the recent exchange of Venezuelan migrants held at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador for 10 U.S. citizens and permanent residents detained in Venezuela. While it is very positive that 252 men who were detained for political reasons without due process in El Salvador and 10 people in Venezuela have been released, it starkly exposes the instrumental and dehumanizing use of migrants as bargaining chips in international negotiations.

Some of the 252 Venezuelan men deported to El Salvador in March 2025 were unjustly labeled as members of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua and were subject to the Alien Enemies Act; others were deported for matters relating to their immigration status. Some were even labeled as gang members solely for their appearance or for having tattoos, which reinforces stigmatizing and racist practices that are contrary to due process. El Salvador and the United States publicized their capture and subjected them to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, labeling them as supposedly dangerous before transferring them to the CECOT. 

Meanwhile, their families insisted that they were not associated with criminal organizations, but simply Venezuelan migrants. Several proceedings pending before U.S. courts debated the basis for their deprivation of liberty in El Salvador and the authority the United States or El Salvador had over them. They were denied access to lawyers and the ability to communicate with their families. Questions continue to be raised about the legality of the invocation of the Alien Enemy Act, their transfer to a third country, and the treatment they received in El Salvador.

In parallel, Venezuela detained these 10 people who were released today in various circumstances, accusing them of being linked to opposition activities to overthrow the regime of Nicolás Maduro months ago.

The U.S., El Salvador, and Venezuelan authorities violated the rights of these people, who were exchanged today. All of them should never have been deprived of their liberty, much less transferred to a third country. Alianza Americas reaffirms that every person, regardless of nationality, immigration status, or political affiliation, deserves to be treated with dignity and to have access to justice and minimum procedural guarantees. The response to migration cannot be based on institutional violence, dehumanizing treatment by virtue of nationality, and the negotiation of human rights.

We demand truth, justice, and accountability. These inhumane acts cause irreparable harm to affected individuals and families cannot continue to occur.

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Alianza Americas is a transnational network of migrant-led organizations in the United States. We advocate for social justice, equity and human rights in the Americas.

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