Venezuela’s Maduro calls US deportation of migrants to El Salvador a ‘kidnapping’, backs calls for their return

Venezuela’s leader described the deportation of 200 migrants deported by the United States to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador as a “kidnapping”, denied they are criminals and backed calls for their return.

Venezuela’s leader has described the deportation of more than 200 migrants deported by the United States to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador as a “kidnapping”, denied they are criminals and backed calls for their return. “Nayib Bukele should not be an accomplice to this kidnapping, because our boys did not commit any crime in the United States, none,” Nicholas Maduro told supporters Wednesday, referencing El Salvador’s leader, who has struck a deal with President Donald Trump. “They were not brought to trial, they were not given the right to a defense, the right to due process, they were deceived, handcuffed, put on a plane, kidnapped, and sent to a concentration camp in El Salvador,” Maduro added. The Venezuelan leader, who has ruled with an iron fist since 2013, said his government will deliver El Salvador an “official document” to request the return of the Venezuelan deportees, which will have the support of “millions” of signatures of Venezuelan citizens. Over the weekend, Trump invoked an 18th-century wartime law to deport 238 Venezuelans it claims are part of the Tren de Aragua gang despite a court ruling halting the move, deepening tensions between the US and Venezuela. He defended the move arguing the US faced an “invasion” of migrants and described those deported as “a bad group of, as I say, hombres.” The Venezuelans, along with 23 Salvadorans also deported, were sent to the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, El Salvador, as part of an agreement between the US and El Salvador. The prison is notorious for the ruthless way it treats prisoners, which human rights organizations say is inhumane and violates human rights.