Armando, a Venezuelan held in the Bluebonnet detention center, in Dallas, Texaswas part of the group of migrants selected to be deported on March 15 to a Megacárcel de Nayib Bukele, in El Salvador. However, an unexpected fact finally saved him from the operation, which, finally, transferred to 238 Venezuelans and 23 Salvadoransmuch of them expelled under The application of the foreign enemies law.
The Venezuelan said that on March 15 It was taken along with other detainees in small groups. “They didn’t tell us anything, they took us out of the bedroom and took us to a patio with officers with dark clothes,” he said Univision.
According to Armando, they made them upload to a group, which later He was escorted by police vehicles to a private airport. “We were like 65. When the bus started, Nine patrols were going ahead and nine back, With armed agents and rioter costumes, ”he added.
Once at the airport, an airplane was waiting for Armando and the rest of the foreigners. The group was retained without receiving information and, surprisingly, Deportation to Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) It was canceled. “They didn’t tell us anything. They just turned back to the detention center,” he said.
The suspension of the flight occurred after a emergency order issued by federal judge James Boasbergwhich slowed the deportations that were ongoing. The decision was taken after civil rights lawyers submitted an urgent appeal to the conditions under which the measure was planned.
The key argument was that Migrants had not had access to due process or the opportunity to challenge deportation. Consequently, it was considered that sending them to El Salvador, specifically to CECOT, implied a risk for physical integrity.
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According to Armando, the decision to include it in the deportation list He could be related to the presence of tattoos in his body. “We all have tattoos, of any kind,” he said.
Texas authorities had previously distributed a List of Images linked to gangs such as the Aragua Trainincluding crowns, trains and common phrases. However, experts have questioned this practice.
Journalist Ronna Rísquez, specialized in organized crime, explained that Tattoos should not be a criterion to accuse someone of criminal affiliation. “Formal investigation is necessary, not only assumptions for appearance,” he said.
The deportation of Venezuelans to El Salvador was covered by the federal government under the Foreign enemies law, a regulation of the 18th century that has only been used in war situations. The fact of applying it to citizens without criminal records generated reactions against both inside and outside the country.
Federal judge James Boasberg, who ordered to suspend the expulsions, claimed that Those affected had the right to defend themselves in court and that no link with terrorist activities was demonstrated. “There is not enough evidence of affiliation to Aragua’s train,” he said in his opinion.
The Trump government initiative massively deports people under an ancient law has been hard. Human Rights Organizations, legislators and lawyers agreed that The minimum guarantees of due process were not respected.
Ángel Álvarez, a lawyer for several Venezuelan migrants, explained to Univision that many of them They had pending audiences and were private communication. “These are people who were going to be sent to El Salvador, to the Cecot prison, without the right to defense. That is why we moved quickly to argue and present actions to prevent the government from carrying out its deportation plans“, held.
