‘He’s Not A Criminal’: Mom Bereft After Spotting Son Among Alleged Venezuelan Gang Members | rssama.com

A Venezuelan mother desperately searching for her boy aft U.S. migration officials detained him says she spotted him shackled connected TV among hundreds of migrants nan Trump management has accused of being convulsive pack members and sent to a Salvadoran prison.

“It’s him. It’s him,” an affectional Mirelis Casique told nan BBC of having seen her 24-year-old son, Francisco Javier Garcia Casique, successful photos of restrained men successful all-white clothing and recently shaved heads. “I admit his features.”

Casique said her boy entered nan U.S. successful precocious 2023 to activity asylum. He presented himself to authorities astatine nan separator and was released, but was past concisely detained successful Texas past twelvemonth pursuing a regular quality pinch migration officers aft they saw his tattoos, she told The New York Times.

Prison guards successful Tecoluca, El Salvador, restrain men nan U.S. claims are members of nan Tren De Aragua and Mara Salvatrucha gangs.

Handout via Getty Images

Those tattoos included nan connection “peace” successful Spanish, immoderate family names, and a crown. They prompted U.S. authorities to explanation Garcia Casique a suspected pack personnel and return him into custody for 2 months earlier releasing him pinch an physics monitor.

On Feb. 6, rule enforcement authorities came to Garcia Casique’s doorway and took him backmost into custody, his mother said.

“He doesn’t beryllium to immoderate criminal gang, either successful nan U.S. aliases successful Venezuela… he’s not a criminal,” she told The BBC. “What he’s been is simply a barber.”

A man identifying himself arsenic Garcia Casique’s relative besides shared photos of him cutting hairsbreadth connected societal media while insisting that his relative is guiltless and wrongfully incarcerated.

“What injustice is this? For having tattoos? Why didn’t they analyse him? Why didn’t they nonstop him to his state of origin?” his relative wrote pinch nan photos. “Respect nan quality authorities of guiltless people.”

The U.S. and Salvadoran governments person not offered immoderate grounds showing that nan deported migrants are connected to nan Tren de Aragua gang, which has been designated arsenic a violent group by President Donald Trump.

In a court filing, officials acknowledged that galore of nan group sent to El Salvador do not person criminal records, though they claimed this “does not bespeak they airs a constricted threat.”

“The deficiency of circumstantial accusation astir each individual really highlights nan consequence they pose,” nan management said successful a sworn declaration.

A defender gives directions connected March 16 to inmates sent from nan U.S. to a maximum information situation successful El Salvador aft they were accused of being linked to criminal organizations.

Handout via Getty Images

Despite nan evident deficiency of owed process and impervious that nan migrants are pack members, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said they will beryllium imprisoned for astatine slightest a twelvemonth and forced to execute labour nether a programme called “Zero Idleness.” This programme is designed to make nan country’s situation system, which costs $200 cardinal a twelvemonth to run, self-sustaining, Bukele said.

“As always, we proceed advancing successful nan conflict against organized crime. But this time, we are besides helping our allies, making our situation strategy self-sustainable, and obtaining captious intelligence to make our state an moreover safer place,” he said successful a statement posted connected societal media.

Other family members of nan imprisoned migrants person made akin pleas for help, insisting that their loved ones person been mistakenly identified arsenic pack members and sent to nan maximum-security Salvadoran prison.

“He has tons of tattoos, but that’s not a logic to discriminate against him,” Johanny Sánchez told The Washington Post of her Venezuelan husband, Franco Caraballo, whom she said was among those deported from Texas to El Salvador.

Another Venezuelan mother told nan Post that her son, Ali David Navas Vizcaya, vanished aft being told past week that he was going to beryllium deported to Venezuela aliases Mexico. He was detained successful early 2024 aft appearing for an assignment pinch migration officers astatine nan U.S.-Mexico border, she said.

“He told me, ‘Finally, we’re going to beryllium together, and this nightmare is going to beryllium over,’” his mother, Xiomara Vizcaya, who lives successful nan bluish Venezuelan metropolis of Barquisimeto, said of her son’s past telephone telephone to her connected Friday.

El Salvador's president has said that nan men will beryllium imprisoned for astatine slightest a twelvemonth and forced to execute labor.

Handout via Getty Images

A comparative of migrant Mervin Yamarte, 29, also told NBC News that Yamarte’s family “fainted. They started screaming,” erstwhile they saw him successful a societal media video pinch a shaved caput and ripped garment among nan group deported to El Salvador.

His brother, for illustration galore others, said Yamarte was misidentified arsenic a pack personnel solely because of his tattoos.

The sister of migrant Fritzgeralth De Jesus said nan aforesaid astir her brother.

“From nan beginning, they asked perpetually astir his tattoos. They would inquire him if he was a personnel of nan criminal gang, Tren de Aragua, and he ever said no,” she besides told NBC News.

On Wednesday, an lawyer for detained Venezuelan shot subordinate Jerce Reyes Barrios accused U.S. authorities of deporting him to El Salvador because of his tattoos and a photograph of him making manus gestures, which nan lawyer said mean “rock and roll” aliases “I emotion you.”

His tattoos see a crown connected apical of a shot ball pinch a rosary and nan connection “Dios,” which intends “God” successful Spanish, nan lawyer said successful a tribunal filing.