Human Rights Watch Denounces Forced Disappearance of 11 Salvadorans Deported from the United States

Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report on Thursday accusing the government of El Salvador of the forced disappearance of at least 11 Salvadoran citizens who were deported from the United States. According to the organization, these individuals were detained by Salvadoran authorities immediately upon arrival in the country, and their families have since been unable to contact them or learn their whereabouts.

Documented Facts

The report details that the 11 deportees arrived in El Salvador on repatriation flights organized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) between late 2025 and early 2026. Several of them had minor criminal records or none at all. Upon landing at El Salvador International Airport, they were separated from other passengers and transferred to facilities from which no further information has been available.

Families in both the United States and El Salvador have attempted to obtain information through legal channels without success. The Attorney General's Office has not responded to formal location requests, and defense lawyers report being denied access to the detainees.

State of Emergency Context

These detentions occur within the framework of the state of emergency in effect in El Salvador since March 2022, which has suspended constitutional guarantees including the right to defense and administrative detention deadlines. Under this regime, authorities can detain individuals without a court order and hold them incommunicado for extended periods.

HRW notes that the deportee case is particularly serious because it involves cooperation between two governments — the U.S. which deports and El Salvador which detains — without transparency or procedural safeguards for those affected.

Our Take

HRW's report points to one of the most troubling cracks in El Salvador's security model: opacity. Detaining people under reasonable suspicion with a transparent legal process is one thing; having 11 deported individuals simply vanish from their families' and lawyers' radar is quite another. Migration cooperation between the U.S. and El Salvador cannot function as a pipeline to forced disappearance. The United States bears responsibility here too: deporting people to a country where there is documented risk of arbitrary detention without minimum guarantees raises serious ethical and legal questions. This case will be a litmus test for the Bukele government's international credibility.

Key Takeaways

• HRW documents the forced disappearance of 11 Salvadorans deported from the U.S. between late 2025 and early 2026
• Deportees were detained upon arrival at the airport and families have had no contact since
• Detentions occur under the state of emergency in effect since March 2022
• The Attorney General's Office has not responded to location requests and lawyers have been denied access
• HRW points to U.S. co-responsibility in deporting people to a country with documented risk of arbitrary detention
• The case could have implications for bilateral migration cooperation between both countries