IACHR grants precautionary measures in favor of three Salvadoran citizens deported from the United States to El Salvador

November 18, 2025

Washington, DC—On November 17, 2025, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 82/2025, granting precautionary measures in favor of William Alexander Martínez Ruano, José Osmin Santos Robles, and Brandon Bladimir Sigarán Cruz, after determining that they face a serious and urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their rights to life and personal integrity in El Salvador.

According to the request for precautionary measures, the beneficiaries are Salvadoran nationals who were deported from the United States. After entering El Salvador, they were reportedly deprived of liberty, and their whereabouts were initially unknown. They are currently being held without contact with their families or legal representatives, who lack information about their detention conditions, legal situation, or health status, despite efforts undertaken within domestic institutions.

The State reaffirmed its commitment to respecting and protecting the human rights of all persons under its jurisdiction and expressed its willingness to cooperate with inter-American human rights mechanisms. It emphasized its diligent actions to determine the beneficiaries’ whereabouts, noting that its reports to the Commission provide this information. The State further argued that the applicants’ claims are based on unfounded assumptions and asserted that the request does not meet the evidentiary standards required for granting precautionary measures.

Upon analyzing the submissions of fact and law, the IACHR deems that the beneficiaries’ families and legal representatives do not have contact with them and lack information regarding their whereabouts, legal status, detention conditions, and state of health. This situation has persisted, despite proceedings before various domestic judicial and administrative bodies.

Given these circumstances, the IACHR considers that William Alexander Martínez Ruano, José Osmin Santos Robles, and Brandon Bladimir Sigarán Cruz face a serious and urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their rights. Accordingly, pursuant to Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR requested that the State of El Salvador:

1. adopt the necessary measures to protect the rights to life and personal integrity of the beneficiaries;
2. clarify the legal situation of the beneficiaries. In particular, formally indicate whether the beneficiaries have been charged with any crime and/or whether they have been brought before the appropriate judicial authority;
3. implement the necessary measures to ensure that the conditions of detention of the beneficiaries comply with international standards. In particular, that the situation of prolonged incommunicado detention be ended; that regular contact with and access to their families, lawyers, and representatives be guaranteed as a means of safeguarding their rights;
4. consult and agree upon the measures to be adopted with the beneficiaries and their representatives; and
5. report on the actions taken to investigate the alleged facts that gave rise to this resolution, so as to prevent such events from reoccurring.

The fact that these precautionary measures have been granted and their adoption by the State of El Salvador do not entail a prejudgment on a potential petition that may be filed before the inter-American system to allege violations of rights protected by the applicable instruments.

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 234/25

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