El Salvador’s Cecot mega-prison was notorious long before the Trump administration’s recent decision to deport hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members there.

Debates over President Donald Trump’s hardline migration policies are focused on the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, to some a ruthless transnational criminal organization and to others the pretext for an overhyped anti-migrant narrative.

Family members of Venezuelan migrants who suspect their loved ones were sent to El Salvador as part of a rapid U.S. deportation operation over the weekend are struggling to get more information as a legal battle plays out.