Venezuelans March in Caracas Against the Deportation of Migrants to El Salvador from the U.S.
Venezuela has accused that the deportation of alleged criminals to El Salvador is a maneuver to use them as “slave labor” and reiterated that it “will not rest” until the migrants are rescued.
Hundreds of Venezuelans protested this Tuesday in a march in Caracas, called by the Chavismo government, against the deportation of more than 200 migrants to El Salvador from the U.S., which was based on a 1798 law to expel supposed members of the transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua, originally formed in a South American prison.
Among the protesters were relatives of the migrants, such as Jazmín Ramírez, the aunt of Ángelo Escalona, an 18-year-old singer who, according to her statement to EFE, had been in the U.S. since August 2023. She claimed that in February, he was “taken away” while filming a music video with a group of friends in his apartment.
The woman, who called it an “abduction” since “he was not committing any crime,” stated that the young man, who “had a work permit,” had informed them last Friday that he was going to be repatriated, but “never arrived,” leading them to presume that he is in El Salvador.
Protesters held signs with photographs and names of the migrants deported to El Salvador.
“They were a group of young men, and some of the relatives of that group (…) have recognized them by physical characteristics,” she added.
A total of 328 migrants were accused by the U.S. government of belonging to Tren de Aragua.
Chavismo claims migrants were sent to El Salvador as “slave labor”
“His only crime is having tattoos,” says the wife of a Venezuelan deported by the U.S. to El Salvador
The deportation of Venezuelans to El Salvador has triggered international searches for missing loved ones.
Venezuela demands immediate access to information about these migrants, who were deported under the Alien Enemies Act invoked by U.S. President Donald Trump. El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has offered to imprison members of Tren de Aragua.
Dusenyeri Martínez, 24, also believes her cousin Ysqueibel Peñaloza, 25, is in the Central American nation, as they have heard “nothing from him” since Saturday, when he informed them that “he was being taken away for deportation.”
“We are all worried. We are from (the Venezuelan city of) Valencia, and we came here to Caracas for the march,” the young woman told EFE. She stated that her relative had been in the U.S. since last September and was “imprisoned” this year after he was “taken from his home” along with some friends, including Peñaloza.
“I want to emphasize that my son is innocent,” says Myrelis Casique López.
“We are naïve in the face of this atrocity,” says a Venezuelan woman who recognized her son among those deported to El Salvador under Trump’s order.
Panic and outrage among Venezuelans in the U.S. over deportations to El Salvador
More than 200 migrants were deported from the U.S. to El Salvador.
Venezuela denounces the transfer of migrants from the U.S. to El Salvador as a “kidnapping”
A Promise of Rescue
Nicolás Maduro, who was sworn in for a third term in January after his controversial re-election last year, expressed solidarity via phone with “all the families of the young men who were (…) sent to a concentration camp in El Salvador.”
He promised to do “whatever it takes to rescue” these migrants, arguing that they have been denied their right to defense and due process.
Hundreds of Venezuelans gathered to denounce the actions of the U.S. government.
Outside the Legislative headquarters, its president, Chavismo leader Jorge Rodríguez, emphasized the mobilization of a “people outraged” by what he called “one of the most barbaric acts ever committed (…) against human beings.”
“President Nicolás Maduro is already reaching out, one by one, to heads of state, government leaders, multilateral organizations, and human rights institutions, expressing our firm position,” he stated.
