• El Salvador admits to UN that U.S. controls deported Venezuelan migrants in CECOT prison.
• The Trump administration has previously claimed it cannot return these migrants.
• ACLU lawyers argue this contradicts U.S. government claims about detainees' custody.
• U.S. paid El Salvador $6 million to hold the migrants under controversial terms.
• Legal challenges continue regarding the deportation and the treatment of the migrants.

The government of El Salvador has formally acknowledged to United Nations investigators that the Trump administration retains control of Venezuelan men deported from the U.S. to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), contradicting public statements made by officials from both countries. This disclosure was embedded in court filings by attorneys representing over 100 migrants challenging their deportations, which occurred despite a U.S. judge ordering the flights to be halted, according to Newsweek, HuffPost, and Los Angeles Times.

Salvadoran officials claimed in their report to the U.N. that "the jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities," meaning U.S. authorities. This contradicts claims made by Trump administration officials that they cannot initiate the return of the deportees, who are supposedly under Salvadoran jurisdiction, according to ABC News and The Hill.

Attorneys for the migrants argue that this U.N. report reveals the U.S. continues to manage their situations, contradicting the administration's position that they are no longer in U.S. custody. "El Salvador has confirmed what we and everyone else understood: it is the United States that controls what happens to the Venezuelans languishing at CECOT," stated ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt, emphasizing the government's lack of transparency in court proceedings, according to NPR and HuffPost.

The previous arrangement, approved by the Trump administration, involved a payment of $6 million to El Salvador for handling approximately 300 migrants, many of whom are linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. This deal, secured under the controversial Alien Enemies Act, has prompted legal challenges from human rights organizations claiming it violates constitutional rights, as discussed in Los Angeles Times and ABC News.