What A Day - The Truth About El Salvador's Mega Prison

Episode Date: August 7, 2025

We’re starting to hear the horror stories from some of the Venezuelan men who the Trump Administration deported to the Salvadoran super-max prison known as CECOT. Many of the migrants, who were abruptly released and sent back to Venezuela last month as part of a prisoner exchange with the U.S., allege they suffered physical, psychological and sexual abuse during their detention. At least one man is trying to sue the U.S. government over his time in CECOT. And then there’s Andry José Hernández Romero, the gay makeup artist whose story garnered national attention after his arrest. He says he faced constant harassment in the prison because of his sexual orientation. Melissa Shepard, director of legal services at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center and one of Romero’s legal representatives, joins us to talk his story and others who were detained at CECOT.And in headlines: President Donald Trump suggested he may soon meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Texas Democrats were forced to evacuate their Illinois hotel because of a fake bomb threat, and the Department of Homeland Security lifted age limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.Show Notes:Check out Immigrant Defenders Law Center – www.immdef.org/Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

It's Thursday, August 7th. I'm Jane Koston, and this is What a Day, the show shouting out the New Zealand Air Force for rescuing three people from a U.S. research base in Antarctica, despite the complete darkness of Antarctic winter and temperatures at minus 10 Fahrenheit. On a related note, I will not be traveling to Antarctica in winter. On today's show, Texas Dems face a bomb threat at their hotel as they protest redistricting votes. And the Department of Homeland Security lifts age limits on immigration and customs enforcement officers and offer some major incentives. But let's start by talking about the Terrorism Confinement Center, or Seacott.

That's the Salvadoran Supermax prison to which the Trump administration has deported hundreds of. of migrants. Officials alleged these men were violent gang members with little evidence. We are starting to hear the horror stories from some of the Venezuelan men who were sent there about four months ago, until they were abruptly released last month in a prisoner exchange. ProPublica published an interview with one of those men on Wednesday. His name is Juan Jose Ramos Ramos. He came to the U.S. legally during the Biden administration. Ramos says he was in the middle of his immigration case when he was deported. He says prior to his detention at Sikot, he'd never been to jail in his life.

He says there, all the officers would come in and beat you. Many times it was even the prison director who hit you. I can barely see through one eye from all the blows to the head. His story is not unique. In an interview with NBC News, three men sent a Sikot alleged that they suffered physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. At least one migrant sent to Sikot is starting the process of suing the U.S. government over his detention in El Salvador. And then there's André Jose Hernandez-Romero. His story garnered national attention after his arrest. He's a gay makeup artist who was seeking asylum in the U.S. because of his sexual orientation. Since his release from Sikot, Romero has said he faced constant harassment in the prison because of a sexual orientation. So to talk more about

Seacot and what the men our country sent there endured. I spoke to Melissa Shepard, director of legal services at the Immigrant Defender's Law Center. She is one of Romero's legal representatives. Melissa, welcome to Wadidae. Thank you so much for having me. You represent Andre Romero, a Venezuelan makeup artist who was sent to Seacot. He's been speaking out since returning, but can you tell us a little bit about his story and how he ended up there? Yeah, sure. So Andri fled Venezuela last year and came to the U.S. border seeking asylum and he did it the way he was supposed to. The administration at that time rolled out the CBP1 application. He waited patiently for an appointment, appeared for his appointment, and unfortunately he never stepped foot freely

in the U.S. and was immediately sent to an immigration detention center. He actually came to the United States seeking asylum because as a LGBT individual, he was persecuted in Venezuela. And he also fled for political reasons. So he came to the U.S. seeking safety. He was detained and he began looking for legal representation. We began representing him late 2024 and had already filed his asylum application when in March he was sent to Texas without any notice to us, without any notice to him. And now in hindsight, we're realizing he was told that he was being taken to a better place when in fact he was being staged in Texas for one of those flights that went to the notorious prison in El Salvador. Now, a big thing that was part of his story, and I feel ridiculous asking this.

is that he was accused by the United States government of being a member of a Venezuelan-based gang called Tren de Aragua. And the evidence they used were his tattoos. Can you talk about his tattoos and why they were an issue? Please know, I feel like an idiot asking you about this because it's so ridiculous,

but I think it's important to explain. Yeah, I mean, I think at this point, everybody has seen Andri's tattoos, but when he presented himself for the CBP-1 appointment and was detained, He immediately went under an interview where they asked him a series of questions, including are you a gang member, have you ever been associated with this gang, all of which he denied. But for the simple fact that he had some tattoos, it gave him enough points on this scale that

they were using to determine that he could be affiliated with the Trenda Agua gang. He has a few tattoos, very artsy types of tattoos. He's got a snake, butterfly, flowers. But most notably, he had tattoos on each of his wrists that were crowns. And one said mom, one said dad. And those crowns are actually associated with a Three Kings Festival that he has celebrated in his hometown since he was a young child. Your firm ended up representing seven other men who were sent to Seacat. What have Andre and the other men told you about their experiences?

They were told initially that they were being sent to Venezuela, and so when the plane landed in El Salvador and they were told to get off of the plane, they did not want to get off. They knew that this is not where they should be. But the moment that they stepped off of the plane onto those stairs to exit the plane, they started receiving beatings, and the beatings didn't stop for 125 days. The conditions they described as they were intake, their heads were forcibly should. shaved. Men were falling over on their knees. They were handcuffed. They were crying. They were only given five seconds to take off their clothes so that they could put on their new prison uniforms. They shared how the lights were never turned off in their cells. All night long, they had trouble sleeping. The guards would bang their keys on the cell so that they couldn't

continue sleeping. Anywhere from sleeping to the food, they experienced absolutely brutal conditions. And to be clear, none of the men that your firm is representing had a criminal record, correct? Right. Including Andri, these men did not have any criminal convictions. Andri, in particular, had never been arrested. He had never stepped foot inside of any type of prison or jail, either here or in any other country. So it was an absolute shock for him to go from a person who was free to detained in the United States and an immigration detention center to CECOT, you know, which is one of the most notorious prisons in the world. Right. It's a prison that's supposed to be for like hardened criminals who will never get out. But I wanted to ask because one of the other things,

I mean, there's so much horrible about this case. But something that really struck me was how people didn't know that their loved ones have been sent to CECOT. And I was curious, did you or your colleagues have any access to your clients while they were there? Because you were already representing Andre beforehand. When did you find out he was there? Yeah, so Andre actually had an immigration court hearing on March 13th. At that point, he'd already been sent to Texas, and he did not appear for his hearing. The Department of Homeland Security had no explanation as to where he was. We were able to speak with him that afternoon and told him that his hearing had simply been rescheduled to the next week. We started hearing grumblings about these flights

being taken to El Salvador, but in fact had zero access whatsoever, despite our request to give us access to our client. Now, all of these men are now back in Venezuela. Are they back with their families? I know Andre Romero's mother was desperately pleading for his return or even just to know how he was doing. There was a really interesting back and force between Representative Robert Garcia and Christy Gnome in Congress being like, can you tell Andre's mother?

that he's okay, and she was like, I'll have to look into that. So how are they all doing now? Yeah, fortunately, we have confirmed that all over clients have been able to be returned to Venezuela. They're with their families. A lot of them have reported that, in particular, their mothers have had a really tough four months without their children there and have described that they found their family members who had lost weight, who had become really depressed. And so I think it's a healing journey for not only the men, but their families as well. I mentioned that Andre Romero, the makeup artist we've been talking about, is speaking out. And he was quoted in The Guardian as saying, we have to clear our names.

Now, to be clear, he didn't do anything. But how is he trying to move forward? Yeah. So I think what you're referring to, Andri, in particular, is really referring to the fact that for the last four months, him and these other men have been called terrorists. He wants to clear their name because he's saying, you know, I have no criminal record. I have zero association at all with Dren de Aragua, and I want to make that really clear to the world. We are not bad men.

We are human beings. He is sharing his story so that people know what happened to them and so that it doesn't happen in the future to others. The release of these men was really sudden. What do you know about the prison? exchange that led to their freedom? And do you know if other people are still being sent to Seacot? Yeah, you're right. The prisoner release was very abrupt. And in fact, other attorneys who were representing some of these men had no idea this was happening. So my guess is as good as as yours as to why they were actually finally released. But it appears that it was as part of a prisoner

swap. And it's clear that these men were being used as leverage the entire time. And I think it goes to show that the U.S. did have custody over these men, despite the government denying so for the last four months. And do you know if the U.S. is still sending people to SICAT? As far as we know, we have not received any reports that they are still sending men to Seacot, but I can tell you that the government is using the tactic of sending folks to third countries. Even when they have relief in the United States, they're being sent to third countries that will accept them. And, you know, the men who are sent to SICOT really want to share their stories so that this does not continue to happen, whether it happens in El Salvador or if it

happens in Sudan, we don't want this to continue to happen. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit arguing that these men were denied due process. Do you know where that case stands right now? Correct. Yeah, you know, there's a lot happening with that case at this time. I know Judge Bozberg did say that these men had their due process rights violated. And so the government was supposed to return with a way in which they could provide some remedy to these men. And so I think it's going to be a case that we're going to be following very closely. As you can imagine, some of these men never want to return to the U.S. after being betrayed and sent to a torture prison.

But at the very least, we want to know what their options are and are going to be taking a close look moving forward. Melissa, thank you so much for your time. You're very welcome. Thank you. That was my conversation with Melissa Shepard, Director of Legal Services at the Immigrant Defender's Law Center. We'll get to more of the news in a moment, but if you like the show, make sure to subscribe, leave a five-star review and up a podcast, and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. What a day is brought to you by Delete Me. Delete Me makes it easy, quick, and safe to remove your personal data online at a time when surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable. Data brokers make a profit off your data. Your data is a commodity. Anyone on the web can buy your private details. That can lead to identity theft, fishing attempts, and harassment. But now you can protect your privacy with Delete Me.

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We had some very good talks with President Putin today, and there's a very good chance that we could be ending the round, ending the end of that road. That road was long and continues to be long, but there's a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon. That was President Trump speaking to reporters of the White House on Wednesday in his very normal way. According to multiple outlets,

the president could meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week in an ongoing effort to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump, of course, wouldn't say how close he was to reaching a deal, but said, quote,

I've been disappointed before with this one. Trump's special envoy, Steve Whitkoff, met with Putin in Moscow on Wednesday. Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky later said he spoke with Trump on the phone about said meeting. Whitkoff and Putin's meeting comes before the White House's looming deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties that could also hit countries buying its oil.

But knowing Trump, there's always a chance the deadline gets pushed because what is it? Oh, yeah, probably two weeks. Because it's always two weeks. A meeting between Putin and Trump would be significant. It would be their first since Trump returned the office. When people use the dog whistles, like hunt them down, there are people that are willing to do that. That's Texas State House Democrat Ramon Romero speaking to MSNBC Wednesday morning. He and other lawmakers were forced to evacuate the Illinois Hotel Weatherstaying because of a false bomb threat.

They're in the state to block a Republican redistricting push in Texas. A statement posted to the Texas House Democrats official Twitter account read, quote, we are safe, we are secure. and we are undeterred. The lawmakers fled taxes Sunday to prevent the Republican counterparts from doing President Trump's bidding and passing a new congressional map

to help him in next year's midterms. The situation has escalated quickly. The state's attorney general is threatening to expel the Democrats who fled if they're not back by Friday. Trump told reporters Tuesday, federal agents, quote, may have to get involved.

And Republican Governor Greg Abbott asked the state's all-Republican Supreme Court to oust House Democratic leader Gene Wu from office. Wu told CNN late Tuesday that Abbott's actions are, quote, purely insanity. What we're looking at is a governor who is conspiring with a disgraced president to use unconstitutional, illegal racial gerrymandering to destroy our communities. I have a duty to respond to that. I have an obligation to do everything I can to stop that.

Texas's nakedly partisan push to redraw their congressional districts is set off a chain reaction of other states threatening to do the same. Vice President J.D. Vance is set to visit Indiana today to talk to lawmakers there about redistricting. For Democrats, their best bet to counter Texas is in California. State lawmakers there are weighing maps that could net the party five seats.

This is one of the things that I'm so excited about because we've seen our ICE officers be terrorized by activists, by violent people who want to do them harm, and they have continued to go. go out bravely and do their jobs and make sure that they're upholding the rule of law. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Christyneum wants you to join her team. The GHS is looking for a few good folks to join ICE. To encourage people to apply, Nome announced Wednesday the agency would waive the age limit for applicants.

It's unclear how old one can be to be considered for a job with ICE, but the cap is now gone. The max age for a new hire used to be one day shy of 37 years old in case you cared. In a press release, DHS explained that it lifted the age cap, so, quote, even more patriots will qualify to join ICE in its mission to arrest murderers, pedophiles, gang members, rapists, and other criminal illegal aliens from America's streets. But not like white pedophiles are rapists, so don't worry about those. The benefits package is pretty sweet, too, including a maximum $50,000 signing bonus, and quote, administratively uncontrollable overtime for deportation officers.

I'm not sure exactly what that means, but the recruitment push is being funded by Trump's big, beautiful law, which includes $170 billion for immigration efforts and border security. So who cares about how much all of this costs? DHS says it now has 80,000 applicants for 10,000 positions. I'm not here to doge the FAA, okay? That is not my gig. That's not what the president asked me to do.

The president asked to fix it. Whatever resources you need, let's get it fixed. In a private town hall, Trump's new federal aviation administration leader repeatedly took shots at Doge. You guys remember Doge, right? The Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, weird people. What a day newsletter writer Matt Berg attended the town hall on Wednesday and reports that FAA administrator Brian Bedford denounced Doge's cost-cutting mission and told staffers his agency instead needs to be built up. Anybody who thinks, oh gosh, efficiency is going to mean fewer jobs just isn't paying attention, right? The agency has got a huge growth mission ahead of it. His comments come after job cuts at the FAA prompted employees to leave on mass

and concerns about air safety in the wake of deadly crashes earlier this year. The FAA is planning to overhaul decades-old equipment that's often blamed for airplane communication issues and malfunctions. Trump's big, beautiful law, set aside more than $12 billion. for that effort because broken clocks once a day, you get it. But some aviation workers say that's not enough. Bedford said he's set to talk numbers with Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vote today. And that's the news. Before we go, the Crooked Store's big summer sale is here and everything is 20% off.

So if you want a new friend of the pod tea or the redesigned Call Congress merch, it's all on sale for a limited time. Merch is a great way to show you support the pod without having to buy a meme coin or a Goldman phone with our faces etched on it, and right now it's all on sale. Shop 20% off everything at crooked.com slash store. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe. Leave a review. Congratulate Major League Baseball's first female umpire and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading, I'm not just about Jen Powell, who will be the first woman to serve as an umpire for a regular season Major League Baseball game this weekend. Like me, what today is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Jane Koston, and before officially making it to the big show, Powell was the first female AAA baseball umpire in 34.

years. And was the first female umpire in spring training since 2007. Unfortunately, her reward will be umpiring three Atlanta Braves games this weekend. The Braves are 47 and 65. Sorry, Jen. What a day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producer is Emily Four. Our producer is Michelle Alloy. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We had production help today from Greg Walters, Matt Berg, Gina Pollock, and Laura Newcomb. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison,

and our senior vice president of news and politics is Adrian Hill. We had help with the headlines from the Associated Press. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East. Thank you. Thank you.