“For more than four months, [Hernandez] anguished in CECOT, where he suffered extreme torture, including being shot with a rubber bullet that inflicted permanent damage, being severely and systematically beaten, and being subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment by prison officials, all of which resulted in physical, psychological and emotional injuries, as well as permanent impairments,” the notice of claim alleges.
A Utah law firm has filed a notice of claim against the U.S. government on behalf of a Venezuelan national who was allegedly tortured after being deported to CECOT, the notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador.
According to The Los Angeles Times, the lawsuit was filed by attorneys from Parker & McConkie. Their client, identified by the alias “Johnny Hernandez,” entered the United States legally and had no criminal record at the time of his arrest. Nevertheless, Hernandez was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in San Diego, after which he was sent to CECOT “without due process.”
A notice of claim is a necessary prerequisite to taking certain kinds of legal actions against the federal government. If the plaintiff and government cannot agree on a resolution—and they almost certainly will not—the case will be filed as a personal injury lawsuit. Attorneys for Hernandez have said they are seeking $56 million in damages.
Hernandez and his family, notes The Los Angeles Times, left Venezuela for Colombia when he was only 11 years old. Years later, they traveled to Central America and Mexico before applying for asylum status in the United States. The family was eventually granted humanitarian parole and allowed to enter the country legally in August of 2024.
“Our client is a young Venezuelan man who came into the U.S. legally to escape threats of violence by the Venezuelan government against his family for their opposition to the Maduro regime,” attorney Jim McConkie of Parker & McConkie said in a statement.
When attempting to enter the United States, though, Hernandez was detained after officials raised concerns that he was affiliated with Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang.
Hernandez denied any gang affiliation but remained detained even after his family was allowed to enter the United States and proceed to Utah. He was then sent to an ICE processing center in San Diego, where he was kept until March 2025.
Hernandez was among 200 or more men deported to El Salvador the same month. It took nearly a half-year for Hernandez to be released from CECOT; he was subsequently deported to Venezuela.
Since his release, Hernandez has claimed that he was severely mistreated while detained at CECOT.
“For more than four months, [Hernandez] anguished in CECOT, where he suffered extreme torture, including being shot with a rubber bullet that inflicted permanent damage, being severely and systematically beaten, and being subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment by prison officials, all of which resulted in physical, psychological and emotional injuries, as well as permanent impairments,” the notice of claim alleges.
The Department of Homeland Security has since said that it will stand by its agents’ decision.
“We are confident in our law enforcement’s intelligence, and we aren’t going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one,” an agency spokesperson said.
Sources
Utah attorneys say 19-year-old was wrongly deported, beaten and tortured in El Salvador prison
Utah firm files lawsuit against government for CECOT detention of Venezuelan immigrant
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