HELPING PEOPLE HEAL AFTER HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
In early 2025, the Trump administration deported more than 250 immigrants from the United States to El Salvador, claiming that they were members of a criminal gang. These men, mostly from Venezuela, were shackled and flown to the notorious Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) prison, a facility long known for torture and inhumane treatment.
The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in an extremely rare use of the act to justify the deportation of these men, claiming that they had links to Tren de Aragua, a gang operating in Venezuela. However, it was determined that almost none of these men had any affiliation with Tren de Aragua. Many were swept up and detained simply because they had tattoos. They were held in CECOT for four months while attorneys fought to have them released. Once they were finally let out, many reported having been subjected to torture, beatings, sexual assault and additional human rights violations during their detention.
A FOCUS ON HEALING AND RESILIENCE
After this level of trauma, care is needed. With CVT’s specialization in treating survivors of torture, CVT clinicians are now providing a range of rehabilitative care services via tele-health to these men, many of whom are now living in Venezuela.
CVT’s trauma experts have connected with dozens of these individuals, who report problems with chronic pain, mobility and functional movement, as well as difficulty sleeping and even thoughts of suicide.
CVT clinicians say that there are a number of factors that make these very difficult cases. In addition to the level of trauma experienced by these survivors, communication is challenging because of inconsistent connections, which impacts the basic level of engagement needed for stabilization.
These individuals are facing challenges beyond the serious mental health and physical impacts caused by their detention,” said Carlos Aceves, CVT country representative. “Their lives have been uprooted entirely and some tell us they feel trapped in their new situations without their families, without the jobs they lost, without their homes and hope for the future.”
CVT trauma specialists in both psychotherapy and physiotherapy are providing strengths-based support in these areas:
- Stress and trauma management
- Chronic pain injuries and physical recovery
- Improve sleep
To ensure accountability to CECOT survivors and verify that services achieve their intended outcomes, CVT applies a results-based management framework. Data are continuously collected and used to inform iterative adjustments to services throughout the project lifecycle.
PROVIDING TELE-HEALTH SERVICES FROM MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
CVT has staff located in Tucson, Arizona, St. Paul, Minnesota, as well as Nogales, Sonora and Mexico City who are providing services via tele-health, including psychotherapy and physiotherapy. In addition, the team holds online sessions with partner organizations who also work with the survivors, covering approaches and psychosocial support for situations where clients are telling their story to news media or for testimony, psychosocial accompaniment through the legal process, as well as for therapeutic documentation of human rights abuses.
CVT also offers psychoeducation and capacity building training for legal and human rights groups, focusing on trauma-informed legal practices and staff care.
CVT EXPERTS WRITE ABOUT U.S. HUMAN RIGHTS
