Jose Fuentes-Pineda, a former member of the Barrio 18 gang, was convicted of murder in El Salvador and unlawfully entered the U.S. in 2022 seeking protection under the Convention Against Torture. Fuentes-Pineda testified that he was forced to join the gang as a teenager and later allowed to leave after becoming a Christian, but that Salvadoran police had tortured him on two occasions in the past.
Judge James C. Ho wrote that substantial evidence supported the Board of Immigration Appeals' conclusion that El Salvador's prison conditions are not 'specifically intended to torture.' The court noted that while Fuentes-Pineda would likely face 'poor and life-threatening conditions' in prison under El Salvador's 'state of exception' anti-gang policy, '[s]ubstandard prison conditions are not torture.' Ho emphasized that even '[c]ruel, inhuman, or degrading' treatment that 'does not cause severe physical or mental pain or suffering' is not 'torture' under the CAT.
The Immigration Judge had initially found Fuentes-Pineda's testimony credible but concluded he could not show a clear probability of future torture, determining it was 'too speculative' that the same officers who previously tortured him would be involved in future detention. The BIA adopted and affirmed the IJ's decision after remanding for further proceedings. Fuentes-Pineda was removed to El Salvador in January 2025, but the case remained live due to potential collateral legal consequences.
The decision reinforces the high burden for obtaining protection under the Convention Against Torture, requiring petitioners to show they would 'more likely than not' be tortured with government involvement or acquiescence. The ruling comes as El Salvador continues its controversial 'state of exception' policy targeting gang members, with over 70,000 people detained according to the court record.