Locked up and forgotten

Vega (seen in reflection) looking at a photo of his son, who disappeared into a prison in 2022 and died recently, in Salinas de Sisiguayo, El Salvador. — Daniele Volpe/The New York Times

JOSE Alfredo Vega’s parents said they were able to identify his body only because of a childhood scar. Otherwise, the corpse was swollen beyond recognition.

“He was OK when he left,” said his father, Miguel Angel Vega, recalling the night nearly three years ago when police barged into their home and took away his son. “He was healthy.”