Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this week contacted United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk to seek UN support for the release of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants deported by the United States to a notorious prison in El Salvador, according to the Venezuelan government.
The deportations in mid-March have sparked a legal battle, with the Trump administration urging the U.S. Supreme Court to invoke a 1798 law for the expedited removal of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Many families of the migrants are distressed, and the Venezuelan government has vowed to take all necessary measures to secure their release.
Maduro spoke with Guterres on Wednesday and Turk on Friday, requesting that the UN assist in restoring the migrants' human rights and facilitating their release.
Both officials expressed their commitment to activating all available mechanisms to promptly address the rights violations faced by the Venezuelan migrants, according to the statement.
A spokesperson for Guterres has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Maduro's government has been frequently criticized by the political opposition for the arbitrary arrests and detentions of its opponents.