Lawyers Representing Venezuelan Migrants Criticize Disregard for Fair Trials as Trump Encounteres Fresh Legal Obstacles
March 25, 2025 - US Deportations to El Salvador Spark International Outcry
Caracas spews outrage, as the stench of injustice wafts from El Salvador's CECOT prison, where a staggering 238 Venezuelans face inhumane treatment and a deplorable lack of access to legal representation.
Venezuela's government-appointed attorneys have reported in vain attempts to communicate with their detained clients, citing the cruel indifference of authorities in both the US and El Salvador. Lead attorney Jaime Ortega expressed his frustration in a scathing interview: "We've pleaded with the Human Rights Office to intervene, and we've begged for a channel to our clients," he fumed. "But our pleas have fallen on deaf ears."
Ortega and his team had initially taken up the cause of 30 Venezuelan migrants forcefully sent to El Salvador in mid-March, utilizing the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. In a desperate move, they filed a habeas corpus appeal with the Salvadoran Supreme Court, offering hope to the remaining 238 deportees. However, no response has materialized.
The lawyers have advocated for improved conditions for their clients, stressing that none had committed any crime on Salvadoran soil. Instead, they languish in a maximum security prison, a far cry from the accusations branded against them by the Trump administration.
"Beyond the habeas corpus, we're exploring other avenues to challenge the US-El Salvador treaty on constitutional grounds," Ortega hinted, adding that asylum through a third country embassy might be another viable option.
Meanwhile, the unyielding Trump administration has shown no signs of slowing its immigration crackdown, with a particular focus on Venezuela. Trump boldly announced following a meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele that the deportations would continue, even hinting at the potential expulsion of US citizens deemed "homegrown criminals" to El Salvador.
The Trump administration struck a deal with the Nayib Bukele government for a reported fee of US $20,000 per detainee per year. This monstrous scheme has been met with international derision, as the world watches in horror as human rights and due process are casually discarded.
As the legal battle responses on multiple fronts, one particularly depressing development is the status of Edicson Quintero, a Venezuelan among the 238 deportees. Quintero's lawyers have thrown a gauntlet at the US federal court, introducing a habeas corpus petition on behalf of their client. The case argues that Quintero's incarceration under the maximum security regime violates his right to due process, as he has committed no crime in the US.
Investigations into the Venezuelan detainees have revealed a troubling truth: the vast majority had no criminal record in the US, while allegations of gang activity relied onidesignators such as tattoos and social media posts.
In a move both ironic and detestable, the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policy has simultaneously targeted legal programs allowing migrants to remain in the US. Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary stay ruling, halting the termination of the "parole" initiative that granted legal status and work permits to migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The White House has vowed to appeal the stay order, while also waging war on the attempt to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for some 600,000 Venezuelan migrants. In a twisted turn of events, the administration's relentless pursuit of migrant expulsions seems to result in a desperate clinging to the very protections they aim to revoke.
Pen by Cira Pascual Marquina in Caracas
Note: The legal status and treatment of the Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador have been widely condemned as a violation of international law and human rights. Many are being arbitrarily detained under abusive conditions without access to legal representation or due process, amounting to enforced disappearances and significant risks of further abuses. Both US and Salvadoran authorities face criticism for placing these individuals outside the scope of the law and failing to uphold their fundamental rights.
[1] https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/04/21/unprecedented-enforced-disappearances-of-venezuelan-migrants-el-salvador[2] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/el-salvador-unlawfully-detaining-venezuelan-migrants-say-human-rights-groups/[3] https://www.politico.eu/article/venezuelan-migrants-deported-from-us-to-el-salvador-are-illegally-denied-access-to-legal-representation/
- Venezuelan lawyers have accused US and Salvadoran authorities of failing to uphold the fundamental rights of their clients, who are currently facing inhumane treatment and a deplorable lack of access to legal representation in El Salvador's CECOT prison.
- The Trump administration's immigration crackdown has been met with international derision, as human rights and due process are seemingly discarded in the process of deporting Venezuelan migrants.
- Edicson Quintero, a Venezuelan among the 238 deportees, now faces a habeas corpus petition arguing that his incarceration under the maximum security regime violates his right to due process, as he has committed no crime in the US.
- The legal battle over the treatment of Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador has taken a political turn, with the White House promising to appeal a stay order halting the termination of the "parole" initiative that grants legal status and work permits to migrants from several countries, including Venezuela.
