The Venezuelans emerging from their plane were not in prison clothes, but in designer jeans and branded tracksuits. Their faces were the faces of guys who in no way expected what they first saw—an ocean of soldiers and police, an entire army assembled to apprehend them.

By Nelson Renteria, Brendan O'Boyle and Raul Cortes SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) -The U.S. has sent hundreds of mostly Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador to be held without trial in a controversial mega-prison known for its harsh conditions.

Human rights advocates warn that the deportees legal rights were violated as they were transferred to the CECOT, a mega-prison established by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele for his crackdown on gangs in the country. The facility, according to the Associated Press, can hold up to 40,000 inmates; up to 70 people are housed in a single cell.