Andry Hernández Romero was detained for 125 days in El Salvador, alleging torture and sexual abuse during that time. He described being beaten and shot with rubber projectiles while confined in dark cells. Many detainees suffered physical injuries from the treatment they endured. Romero was among more than 250 Venezuelan men deported under the revived Alien Enemies Act. Despite entering the U.S. legally and passing an initial interview, he was accused of gang affiliation based on his tattoos, which he and his lawyers deny.
"It was an encounter with torture and death," Hernández Romero, 32, told journalists at his family home in Capacho on Wednesday, describing how he and others were beaten, shot with rubber projectiles, and confined in dark cells, before they were suddenly freed on Friday.
"Many of our fellows have wounds from the nightsticks; they have fractured ribs, fractured fingers and toes, marks from the handcuffs; others have marks on their chests, on their face ... from the projectiles."
Hernández Romero was one of more than 250 Venezuelan men expelled under the revived Alien Enemies Act, a wartime-era law that President Donald Trump used to deport people without hearings or asylum screenings.
Though he entered the United States legally at the San Diego border, appeared for an appointment the U.S. government gave him, and passed an initial credible fear interview, federal agents cited his tattoos as alleged proof of membership in the Tren de Aragua gang.
Collection
[
|
...
]