MP rejected a “cynical” response from the Salvadoran CSJ to 250 Venezuelans kidnapped in CECOT

Published at: 23/06/2025 04:23 PM

The Public Ministry (MP), through a statement, rejected the “cynical” response of the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador regarding the more than 250 Venezuelans kidnapped at the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT).

Through an email, El Salvador declared the Venezuelan intervention inadmissible “alleging that the communication sent does not meet established legal and formal requirements, nor was it made through appropriate diplomatic channels.”

Below is the full text of the Communiqué:

The Venezuelan Public Ministry reports that after sending a communication to the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador on March 30 to request its intervention in defense of the rights of Venezuelan citizens illegally kidnapped in that country, we received a shameful response from that judicial body via email, more than 80 days later.

As an institution committed to human rights, we reject the delaying and evasive maneuver of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador, which through this ruling seeks to disregard its constitutional responsibility to protect the freedom and personal integrity of the 252 Venezuelan citizens sent from the United States to El Salvador and detained there without having committed any crime.

In this communication, the Court declares our intervention inadmissible, claiming that the communication sent does not meet established legal and formal requirements, nor was it made through appropriate diplomatic channels.

In addition, with respect to the habeas corpus carried out by a group of lawyers representing the victims, the Court notes that the applicants did not provide accurate information about the facts alleged, the responsible authorities, or the specific reasons justifying the violation of constitutional rights.

Thus, he refuses to comply with our request, while on the other hand, he has chosen not to analyze the facts or enter into the substance of the habeas corpus carried out by the lawyers, hiding behind a series of fallacious formalities and disproportionate demands, with the sole objective of evading his constitutional duty of control over illegitimate deprivation of liberty.

By asking defenders to specify if citizens are “really” detained, or to prove widely known facts, such as their transfer to CECOT in the middle of a media spectacle, the Chamber is not only dismissing, but also complicit in this legal aberration.

As an institution that guarantees legality, we will not accept that people are subject to arbitrary detention, incommunicado detention, forced transfer or deprivation of liberty without trial, without defense, without due process and without even knowing why they are imprisoned or where they are.

We do not accept that enforced disappearances are legitimate under formal pretexts.

As part of our effort to provide support to victims and promote the search for justice, this Public Ministry located and interviewed 116 family members of 118 compatriots illegally detained in El Salvador. These interviews are available to the lawyers who represent them and to the Salvadoran justice system, if you are willing to listen to them.

With this response, the Salvadoran State has chosen to evade its responsibility and deny all cooperation, not only with Venezuela, but with the most basic principles of international human rights law. This occurs in the eyes of multilateral organizations and under the complicit silence of those who claim to defend them.

The Venezuelan people and this Public Ministry will not rest until they restore dignity, freedom and justice for each of their citizens subject to this chain of violations.

Caracas, June 23, 2025

Tarek William Saab Attorney General of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Mazo News Team