Treatment of Venezuelan migrants held at Salvadoran prison at U.S. request amounted to "arbitrary detention" and "torture," report argues

A report released Wednesday by human rights groups determined that the deportation and treatment of more than 200 Venezuelan migrants imprisoned in El Salvador for months at the request of the U.S. amounted to arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance under international law.

The investigation , by the groups Human Rights Watch and Cristosal, found the detainees were victims of "constant beatings" by Salvadoran guards at the notorious CECOT maximum security prison, as well as other forms of mistreatment, including cases of sexual abuse. Investigators argued some of these alleged abuses constitute torture under international law.

"The human rights violations documented in this report violate El Salvador's obligations under international law, including the prohibitions on arbitr