Andry Hernández, Sent to CECOT Without Due Process, Tells of Sexual Assault and Torture
After four months inside El Salvador’s most infamous prison, Venezuelan makeup artist Andry Hernández returned home to his family Wednesday, describing his detention as “an encounter with torture and death.” Andry sought asylum in the United States legally because of his sexuality and fears that he would be harmed in his home country of Venezuela, and opposition to the current government in the country.
Hernández, 32, was among more than 250 Venezuelan migrants deported by the United States under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act and transferred to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison. He and others were accused by U.S. authorities of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang and were denied due process. The U.S. government did not provide any proof that its accusations were true.
The detainees were returned to Venezuela on Friday in a prisoner exchange. In interviews since, Hernández has provided harrowing accounts of his time at CECOT, alleging physical and sexual abuse, inhumane conditions, and routine beatings carried out by masked guards.
He told NPR that prisoners were often punished for minor infractions, such as complaining about conditions or bathing outside of designated hours. Infractions could result in being dragged from a cell and assaulted in the corridor, or taken to a solitary confinement cell known among inmates as “La Isla,” or “The Island.”
During one such episode, Hernández said he was targeted after guards saw him bathing with a bucket outside of permitted hours. He alleged he was beaten by three masked guards and forced to perform oral sex on one of them before being returned to his cell hours later. Andry also said, Three officers grabbed the batons and passed them over my private parts. And for me, that was just too devastating.” He told his story during an interview on a TV program called Con Maduro+, a show that is associated with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
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While detained, he said, prisoners were held in cramped, sweltering cells with clogged toilets and no ventilation. They were rarely allowed outdoors. Meals typically consisted of beans, rice, and tortillas, often spoiled or undercooked. Hernández also reported being shot with rubber projectiles and witnessing others suffer similar or worse abuse.
Legal advocates say Hernández is one of eight men represented by the Immigrant Defenders Law Center who were deported to El Salvador. Two of the clients were reportedly detained in Imperial County.
Before his arrest, Hernández worked as a makeup artist for a television network in Venezuela.
