Report on Human Rights Violations and Sustainable Development Goal Implications of Venezuelan Deportations to El Salvador

Executive Summary

This report details allegations of severe human rights abuses against Venezuelan nationals deported by the United States to El Salvador’s Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Cecot). Testimonies from repatriated individuals and their legal representatives describe conditions amounting to “state-sanctioned torture.” These events represent a profound failure to uphold international human rights standards and directly contravene the principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with significant negative impacts on several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), most notably SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Violations of SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

The treatment of Venezuelan deportees in Cecot constitutes a direct assault on the core tenets of SDG 16, which aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions. The reported actions undermine the rule of law and represent a complete failure of justice.

• Absence of Due Process: Individuals like José Manuel Ramos Bastidas were transferred to Cecot without having been convicted of any crime. He was flagged based on an unsubstantiated report and his tattoos, denying him the right to a fair legal process.
• Arbitrary Detention and Violence: Detainees were informed they faced sentences of 30 to 90 years. Their detention was characterized by extreme violence, contravening Target 16.1 (significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere).
• Systematic Torture and Abuse: The experiences reported are a clear violation of Target 16.2 (end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children, which extends to all persons). Reported abuses include:
  • Repeated shootings with rubber bullets.
  • Prolonged beatings, with one incident reportedly lasting six consecutive days.
  • Humiliation by guards, including being beaten while naked by guards of the opposite gender who recorded the incidents.
• Failure of Institutional Accountability: The decision to transfer asylum seekers to a facility known for human rights violations demonstrates a failure of accountable governance and a disregard for international law. Legal filings call for courts to address this “state-sanctioned violence.”

Detrimental Impacts on SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

The conditions within Cecot actively harmed the physical and mental health of detainees, directly opposing the objective of SDG 3 to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

1. Psychological Trauma: Lawyers state that the detainees will likely carry the psychological impact of the torture for their entire lives. Experiences of isolation and constant fear were reported as near-death experiences.
2. Physical Harm: Detainees suffered from daily beatings, resulting in physical scars and injuries.
3. Unsanitary Conditions: Inmates were reportedly denied basic hygiene, with soap and bathing opportunities provided only on days when outside visitors were present, forcing a choice between hygiene and public humiliation.
4. Inadequate Sustenance: The provision of limited food and dirty drinking water further threatened the health and well-being of the prisoners.
5. Sleep Deprivation: Lights were kept on throughout the night, and guards would enter cells to administer beatings, preventing detainees from resting and recovering.

Exacerbation of Inequalities in Contravention of SDG 10

The case highlights extreme inequalities in the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers, undermining SDG 10, which calls for reducing inequality within and among countries, and Target 10.7 to facilitate orderly, safe, regular, and responsible migration.

• Vulnerability of Migrants: The deportation of asylum seekers to a third-country prison for torture exemplifies the vulnerability of migrant populations and the unequal application of justice.
• Failure of Safe Migration Pathways: Mr. Ramos Bastidas attempted to use the official CBP One application to seek asylum, yet this formal process failed to protect him and instead led to his detention and subsequent torture.
• Discriminatory Practices: The flagging of an individual based on tattoos and unverified intelligence points to discriminatory profiling that denies individuals their fundamental rights.

Socio-Economic Drivers: Links to SDG 1 and SDG 8

The initial motivations for migration are rooted in the failure to achieve fundamental development goals in the country of origin, Venezuela, connecting this human rights crisis to SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

• Poverty and Economic Collapse: Mr. Ramos Bastidas left Venezuela due to the country’s economic collapse, seeking a better income to support his family.
• Decent Work for Family Well-being: His primary motivation was to secure funds for medical care for his infant son, who suffers from severe asthma, linking the quest for decent work directly to family health and well-being (SDG 3).
• Development Failures Leading to Risk: The lack of economic opportunity and stability forced individuals to undertake dangerous migration journeys, ultimately exposing them to severe human rights violations.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: This is the most central SDG. The article focuses on the failure of justice systems, the lack of rule of law, and the perpetration of violence and torture by state actors. The experiences of the Venezuelan deportees in the Cecot prison, including being held without conviction and subjected to “state-sanctioned torture,” directly relate to the core principles of this goal.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The article touches upon this goal through the lens of migration policies. The deportation of Venezuelan asylum seekers to a third-country prison, rather than back to their home country, highlights discriminatory and unsafe migration management, which is a key concern of Target 10.7. The men’s vulnerability as migrants was exploited.
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: This goal is relevant in two ways. First, the initial reason for migration was economic hardship preventing access to medical care for a child with severe asthma. Second, the article explicitly details the severe negative health impacts on the detainees, including “scars from daily beatings” and the lifelong “psychological impact of this torture.”
• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: The article directly mentions the poor living conditions inside the prison that contravene this goal. It states that the “drinking water was dirty” and that detainees were denied regular access to soap and bathing facilities, which are fundamental aspects of water and sanitation rights.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere. The article provides extensive testimony about the violence endured by detainees, including being “shot with rubber bullets,” “lengthy beatings,” and psychological humiliation, which are all forms of violence this target aims to reduce.
2. Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all. José Manuel Ramos Bastidas was never convicted of a crime and was held in detention based on an “unsubstantiated report.” His imprisonment without due process is a clear failure to promote the rule of law and ensure access to justice.
3. Target 10.7: Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies. The US government’s decision to fly deportees to a notorious prison in a third country, where they were tortured, instead of repatriating them to Venezuela, represents a failure of safe and responsible migration policy.
4. Target 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all. The article’s statement that the “drinking water was dirty” inside Cecot shows a direct failure to meet this target for the prison population.
5. Target 6.2: Achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all. The report that inmates “were only provided soap and an opportunity to bathe on days when visitors were touring the prison” demonstrates a severe lack of access to adequate hygiene, which this target seeks to address.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. For Target 16.1: The article provides qualitative data that serves as an indicator of violence. The testimonies describing “lengthy beatings,” being “shot with rubber bullets,” and guards recording videos of naked prisoners being beaten are direct evidence of the prevalence of physical and psychological violence against detainees.
2. For Target 16.3: The case of Ramos Bastidas serves as an indicator for Indicator 16.3.2 (Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison population). The article states he was “never convicted of any crimes” and was held as an unsentenced detainee, highlighting a specific instance of detention without trial.
3. For Target 10.7: An implied indicator is the number of migrants or asylum seekers subjected to unsafe or punitive deportation practices. The group of “252 Venezuelan men that the US sent to El Salvador’s most notorious mega-prison” is a quantifiable measure of this failure.
4. For Target 6.1 & 6.2: The article provides direct qualitative indicators. The description of “dirty” drinking water is an indicator of the lack of safely managed drinking water services. The detail that soap and bathing were restricted is a clear indicator of the lack of access to basic hygiene facilities for the prison population.

Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators’ to present the findings from analyzing the article. In this table, list the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), their corresponding targets, and the specific indicators identified in the article.

Source: theguardian.com