For at least 50 of the 71, I was able to find information implying a criminal record, and in a number of cases, the record is clear that these are indeed criminals, and in some cases hardcore ones at that. And note, I'm giving the Trump administration, the benefit of the doubt, as in a number of cases, the only information I was able to find re. specific crimes these men were accused of came directly from the U.S. government - you'll see what I mean when you scroll through these profiles. And here's one example of how the government describes some of the men sent to El Salvador:
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/04/30/100-days-fighting-fake-news
Interestingly, by my calculation, approximately 28% of the persons for whom information was available, do appear to have some sort of criminal record (even if minor crimes). This is a somewhat higher percentage than reported in most news sources. My own initial impression when I started the Bluesky thread was that less than 20% were in that category, but through scouring a lot of information I was able to find additional data showing that a criminal record indeed exists for additional men. But, this also underlines the fact that many innocent persons were thrown in together with the criminals into CECOT (and it's fairly clear, in my opinion, that a majority of the Venezuelans sent there are innocent).
And, for even more nuance, it appears that only around 21 (plus or minus a few) of the total might be actual members of Tren de Aragua and/or actual violent criminals, based on the information I was able to find. It's noteworthy that this is less than 10% of the total number of Venezuelans sent to CECOT.
All this information shows the importance of the data needing to be out there, so that we have a true picture of who was sent to CECOT, and so that we can free, through the legal process, those innocent persons who are now "entombed" there (in the words of Judge James Boasberg in his June 5, 2025 opinion relating to this issue). I apologize if my Bluesky thread is somewhat disjointed, but the best way to obtain all this information is just to scroll through either the "replies" or "posts" relating to my Bluesky account (remember, there are a total of 195 profiles there). As far as the 124 men profiled on this website, it's much more straightforward. Just click on the two links provided for each person (under their photo). Link 1 will take you to my original Bluesky link for that person, while Link 2 will take you to another news article or social media profile where you will find additional detailed information.
In addition to the Cato Institute (cited above), the other invaluable source of information and inspiration for me was The Disappeared site below:
https://www.the-disappeared.com
And, these sites also have very good information:
https://rfkhumanrights.org/our-impact/justice/international-justice/rfk-human-rights-el-salvador-delegation-to-investigate-trumps-unlawful-deportations/
https://www.nilc.org/resources/tracking-the-cecot-disappearances/
https://www.cliniclegal.org/resources/removal-proceedings/part-ii-what-happening-alien-enemies-act-kilmar-abrego-garcia-and
https://www.wola.org/2025/04/weekly-u-s-mexico-border-update-el-salvador-renditions-mass-deportation-military-role/#note1
UPDATE: I decided to input all the names I could find for the Venezuelans sent to CECOT on the main page of this website. I added 131 men, so there is a grand total of 255 for the website, which is 8 more Venezuelans at CECOT than I had originally thought are imprisoned there. With further research, I was able to find information on crimes for an additional 15 men, bringing that total to 66, which is approximately 31% of the number for whom we have any information. For many of the added men, there is disputed information as to whether they have a criminal record or not. A number of the men deported in late March and April (separate from the original 238 Venezuelans deported on March 15) are listed below along with their purported crimes:
At the bottom of the site I have added a few additional names of Venezuelans who *might* be at CECOT, in part based on the link below (it's really not clear what the grand total is, and it could ultimately be more or less than 255, as information is still completely missing for many listed names):
https://www.404media.co/flight-manifests-reveal-dozens-of-previously-unknown-people-on-three-deportation-flights-to-el-salvador/
Nevertheless, for all cases, you can read the information provided and do more of your own research (all of this information is already online and the purpose of this website is to consolidate it all into one place). Again, I want to emphasize that any determination on this website in re. to whether *any* man here is a criminal or not is just in my observation as an amateur researcher, and I have provided all the information I could find whether good or bad for all. And, last but not least - regardless of criminal record, I believe that all of these men deserve due process.
UPDATE #2: All of the deportees have been freed on July 18, 2025! I added one name (Rodolfo Mayor) at the bottom of the site, as it appears this man was also imprisoned at CECOT based on stories that came out after the men returned to Venezuela. On July 23, ProPublica published the article below, detailing even more information on these individuals. I have incorporated some of the photographs from this article into my site (note - those newest photos are distinguished by their rounded edges, and you can read the brand new information on these men in this article):
https://projects.propublica.org/venezuelan-immigrants-trump-deported-cecot/
And here are some links to articles describing what these men had to endure while at CECOT:
https://www.propublica.org/article/venezuelan-men-cecot-interviews-trump
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/07/31/venezuelans-deported-us-el-salvador-prison-cecot/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-5bb1a625-2a25-4cc5-86f3-9132c7b9468a
https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-08-25/andry-hernandezs-life-after-leaving-bukeles-terror-prison-our-bodies-are-free-but-our-minds-are-still-there.html
https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/trumps-prisoners-in-el-salvador-returning-home-from-hell-a-a238c1ee-e0cc-41e4-80f8-f68b8e76483d