According to Amnesty International, tens of thousands of people in Latin America were detained in government quarantine facilities under poor conditions during the coronavirus crisis. The governments of the South American states Venezuela and Paraguay as well as the Central American El Salvador had used strict quarantine regulations for punishment and repression, according to a report published yesterday by the human rights organization.
They put people in military and police-run centers, some for far longer than the 14 days recommended by the World Health Organization. In some cases there was a lack of adequate food, water and medicine. There have also been reports of excessive use of force, it said. Disproportionately often it was people with limited resources, refugees and migrants who were held in the state quarantine centers.
90,000 migrants in Venezuela affected
In Venezuela, around 90,000 Venezuelan migrants who returned from neighboring countries after losing their jobs were affected in the period from March to August. Such returnees would continue to be placed in mandatory quarantine there.
According to the report, 16,780 people were detained in El Salvador during the period – some for allegedly failing to comply with applicable exit restrictions. In Paraguay, there were around 8,000 people – mainly migrant workers who returned from neighboring Brazil. In the latter two countries, the practice has now been terminated or reduced.
