Lawyers ask El Salvador’s Supreme Court to release Venezuelans deported from US

A law firm filed a habeas corpus petition with the Supreme Court of El Salvador on Monday, demanding the immediate release of 238 Venezuelans who were deported to the country and have been imprisoned at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) since March 15. The law firm, Bufete Grupo Ortega, claims to have been directly hired by the vice president of Venezuela to lead this legal battle.

The document — to which EL PAÍS has had access — was received at 11:44 a.m. at the office of the Constitutional Court, one of four that make up the Supreme Court. Among other things, the petition demands — in capital letters — the “IMMEDIATE RELEASE” of 30 Venezuelan citizens represented by the firm, and, “in accordance with the principle of extension,” the release of the others.

The petition also calls for the Supreme Court to take immediate precautionary measures while deliberating on the case, including transferring the Venezuelans to immigration detention centers and ensuring they receive adequate health care, food, and communication with their families. “This is an eminently democratic legal act, as it urges the institutions established by the state of El Salvador, such as the Supreme Court of Justice, to clarify the legal status of our clients, since they have not committed any crimes in this jurisdiction,” Jaime Ortega, an attorney representing the firm, told EL PAÍS.

According to the lawyer, the habeas corpus — a legal remedy aimed at overseeing the right to liberty and integrity of prisoners, and whether their detention is legally justified — seeks to provide “first aid” to the Venezuelans who are in “legal limbo.” “These cases are unprecedented. In the entire history of our Republic, a situation like this has never occurred. We don’t have a treaty or legal framework that designates who can protect these individuals,” says Ortega. For him, there is no legal basis, either within the country or under international law, to keep them in prison.

Although analysts and human rights experts have compared El Salvador’s CECOT to a “Central American Guantánamo,” there is a significant legal difference: while the Guantánamo base is located on Cuban territory, the United States has maintained exclusive control and jurisdiction over the base since 1903.

In El Salvador, Ortega asserts, there is no legal basis for detaining the Venezuelans. “We are talking about an irregular detention, echoing the analysis made by the Washington judge today,” he points out.

“Even the Nazis were treated better,” says US judge

In arguing that the more than 200 Venezuelans deported to El Salvador — whom the Trump administration linked to the Tren de Aragua criminal group without providing evidence — should have had the opportunity to stand trial, Washington Court of Appeals Judge Patricia Millet remarked that even “Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act” than they did. Federal Judge James Boasberg on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s request to lift the two-week injunction against deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

According to Ortega, discussions with the Venezuelan government began last Tuesday. First, he says, they hired the Angostura Caracas Law Firm, which obtained legal authorization to represent the families of 30 deportees. Later, that firm transferred power of attorney to the El Salvador-based firm to act before local authorities.

From Caracas, relatives of some of those detained at the CECOT confirmed meetings with authorities, including President Nicolás Maduro himself and Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. They also confirmed that the Angostura Caracas Law Firm is involved in the cases.

Although the government has not yet confirmed that it hired the firm, Maduro has tried to champion the Venezuelans' cause since they were sent to El Salvador. “They beat them with clubs, with sticks; they humiliated them, threw them to the ground, shaved their heads. Is that called justice? Is that called international law? Is that called human rights? What is that called? It’s called fascism, Nazism. And Venezuela is ready and willing to denounce this massive violation of human rights,” he said on his television program Con Maduro+, broadcast last Monday on state television.

According to Ortega, his team has so far failed to make any contact with the Venezuelans in CECOT. “We don’t even know what their position is,” he says. “Once the court rules, we can make requests to the relevant authorities to allow us to speak with them.”

For now, the lawyer does not know how long the process might take. “The time it may take is quite unpredictable. It could be expedited, delayed for a while, or take a long time. This is an unprecedented event, and in the absence of specific deadlines, it could be delayed for as long as deemed necessary,” he explains.

El Salvador’s Constitutional Court has been controlled by the ruling party since May 2021, when the Legislative Assembly, also controlled by President Nayib Bukele, removed five judges, taking control of all three branches of government. Since then, the judges have ruled in favor of the president on several occasions, including the “reinterpretation” of the Salvadoran Constitution to allow for presidential reelection.

However, Ortega is confident that the judges can act independently: “We believe we are living in a democracy, and that is why we activated the legally constituted bodies. Therefore, they must issue a ruling.”

With reporting by Florantonia Singer in Caracas.

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