“Black hole”: El Salvador disappearing US deportees into CECOT, rights group says

The watchdog group Human Rights Watch accused El Salvador‘s government of disappearing some nationals deported from the United States.

Some 9,000 Salvadorans who have been deported since the start of 2025, according to Human Rights Watch. Some have been detained at the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) mega prison, a facility infamous for its rampant abuses. The organization said that many of those detained at CECOT have been kept out of contact with their families and it’s unclear whether or not they’ve appeared before a judge. Previous reporting by the Washington Post found that many are still being held without due process a year after being detained. 

Human Rights Watch Americas Director Juanita Goebertus likened the extended detention to an “enforced disappearance.”

“Whatever the criminal history of these Salvadoran men, they have a right to due process, to be taken before a judge, and their relatives are entitled to know where they are being held and why,” Goebertus said on Monday. 

Concern among families and communities of individuals deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration has grown since the legally contentious deportations began in 2025. The administration has worked to designate the Salvadoran deportees as members of criminal gangs, including MS-13. Per Human Rights Watch, there is little evidence that all deportees held in CECOT have gang ties.

“The United States should stop ​casting people into the black hole of El Salvador’s prison system,” Goebertus said.