Why experts fear the men who were sent to El Salvador's megaprison may never make it out

Hundreds of Venezuelans deported to El Salvador from the U.S. may face long or indefinite detention in a prison system known for human rights abuses.

Hundreds of Venezuelans who were deported to El Salvador from the United States in recent days could face long or indefinite detention in a prison system rife with human rights abuses, according to attorneys and experts on the region. 

Their families and lawyers fear there will be no recourse for them to return to the United States for scheduled immigration hearings or even return to their native Venezuela — all while those who spoke to NBC News continue to insist their loved ones and clients have no criminal histories or gang ties.

The Trump administration has said those who were sent to El Salvador had ties to the Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua.

“We have no idea if there is any legal process by which we can challenge this, either in El Salvador or the United States,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, an attorney who represents a Venezuelan man in his early 30s who was seeking asylum from persecution for being gay and for his political activism against Nicolás Maduro's government. “This is the grossest human rights violation I have seen.”

She and other attorneys said they have been completely unable to reach their clients and fear they have disappeared into a prison system notorious for mass detentions, abuse and a lack of due process.