Over 250 Venezuelans who were deported to El Salvador’s prisons by Donald Trump in March and April suffered systematic and prolonged torture and abuse, including sexual assault, during their detention, according to a report published by Human Rights Watch and Cristosal, a Central American human rights group.
(“Venezuelans Sent By Trump to El Salvador Endured Systematic Torture,” Guardian, Nov. 11, 2025)
The U.S. government approved a sale of sniper rifles to a deadly police unit in Brazil last year, overriding concerns from the Biden administration’s ambassador to Brazil and other diplomats, that the arms could be used in extrajudicial killings. Reuters reports that the Rio de Janeiro police unit that purchased the guns, known as BOPE, played a central role in a raid in late October in Rio’s Penha neighborhood that left 117 civilians dead. However, none of those killed by police were among the 69 suspects named by prosecutors.
(“US Sold Sniper Rifles to Brazil Police Unit Tied to Deadly Raid,” Reuters, Nov. 7, 2025; “Deadly Brazil Police Raid Failed to Capture or Kill Gang Leaders,” Reuters, Nov. 10, 2025)
During the early days of the Trump administration, Leland Dudek, an IT security official at the Social Security Administration attempted to enlist the young tech staffers from billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, into updating the agency’s out-of-date technology. Dudek was put on leave by SSA leadership for sharing information with DOGE without authorization, but soon after, President Trump appointed him acting Social Security Commissioner.
(“The Untold Saga of What Happened When DOGE Stormed Social Security,” ProPublica, Sept. 8, 2025)
