Venezuelan Men Sue 2 US Aviation Firms Over 3 Flights to Salvadorian Prison
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 26
Venezuelan Men Sue 2 US Aviation Firms Over 3 Flights to Salvadorian Prison
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 26
Summary
A federal lawsuit filed in Washington this week accuses CSI Aviation and GlobalX of helping send more than 230 Venezuelan men to El Salvador's Cecot prison, seeking damages for civil-rights violations, false imprisonment and emotional distress.
The complaint says the companies operated three March 2025 flights after Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, and ignored a federal judge's order to turn the planes back despite knowing detainees faced likely torture.
CSI—described as ICE's top-value contractor with $1.23 billion in 2025 revenue—allegedly brokered nearly all deportation flights and subcontracted GlobalX for the El Salvador operation.
The men were held about four months before Venezuela received them in a July 2025 prisoner exchange; the suit says they still suffer headaches, insomnia and trauma from abuse inside Cecot.
Judge James Boasberg, who oversees the original deportation case, will handle the new suit as rights groups press to hold private contractors liable for alleged abuses in Trump's deportation campaign.
Can private airlines be held liable for ignoring a federal judge's order to deliver passengers to a notorious foreign prison?
"Mass Deportations, Private Profits, and Human Rights: Inside the 2025–2026 U.S. Rendition to El Salvador’s CECOT Prison"
Overview
In March 2025, the US government invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport over 230 Venezuelan men to El Salvador, paying $6 million for their detention in the CECOT mega-prison. Despite a federal judge’s order to return the flights, private aviation firms CSI Aviation and GlobalX delivered the men to CECOT, where they endured four months of systematic torture and severe emotional trauma. This led to a major class-action lawsuit against the aviation companies for civil rights violations. The crisis ended with a diplomatic prisoner swap, allowing the Venezuelan men to reunite with their families, but leaving lasting legal and humanitarian consequences.