The Justice Department has admitted that it was Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who made the decision to deport a group of Venezuelan men to the notorious CECOT mega-prison complex in El Salvador, ignoring a judge’s order to keep them in custody in the United States. The disclosure came in response to demands by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg that the Trump administration name the officials involved in the controversial removal operation, as he’s resumed a criminal contempt inquiry into whether Trump officials violated his March order to halt the deportation flights of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador. Among those who reportedly advised Noem to ignore Boasberg’s orders were Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and then-Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.
During her visit to CECOT in March, Noem posed in front of an overcrowded cell as detained men, shirtless, lined up behind her. Several of the Venezuelans sent to CECOT by the Trump administration, who have since been released, described being tortured, as well as sexually and physically abused by guards.