E-Paper
Shocked mother spots son deported by Donald Trump administration in notorious mega-prison footage: ‘It’s him, it’s him’
The mother was waiting for her son in Venezuela, but she recognised him from his tattoos in a news report from the infamous El Salvador prison.
A mother waiting for his deported son to come back home was shocked after she spotted him in a news report. According to the BBC, the Donald Trump administration deported her son for staying in the US illegally, and she assumed that he would return home to Venezuela's capital, Caracas. Instead, she saw her son in footage showing 238 Venezuelans who were sent to the Terrorism Confinement Centre, or Cecot, a notorious mega-jail in El Salvador for being an alleged gang member.
"I thought it was a good sign that he was being deported [to Caracas]," Myrelis Casique López, mother of 24-year-old Francisco José García Casique, told the BBC.
How did she recognise her son?
The footage of the prison showed men surrounded by heavy security inside the prison. The alleged gang members with shaved heads had shackles on their hands and feet.
Also Read: Man seen putting ‘Deport by USA’ sticker, American flag on vehicle with Punjab license plate
The mother told the outlet she was sure one of the detainees was her son. "It's him. It's him," she said, pointing towards one of the men in the prison.
"I recognise his features,” she added. Though the men bowed their heads, the mom said she recognised her son’s features and tattoos. She insisted on her son’s innocence.
Why were the men sent to jail?
The Trump administration, despite a judge’s temporary order, moved 238 Venezuelans to an El Salvador prison which, according to the Guardian, is “designed to disappear people.”
The Venezuelan immigrants to the US were transported for allegedly having gang affiliation. Some were also accused of drug smuggling, sex trafficking, and murders.
According to the BBC, many deportees did not have US criminal records. In the case of Francisco, his mother told the outlet, "He doesn't belong to any criminal gang, either in the US or in Venezuela… he's not a criminal." She continued, “What he's been is a barber."
Also Read: ‘Spent ₹40 lakh, stayed in US for 11 days’: Deported Indian immigrant opens up
"Unfortunately, he has tattoos," she added, expressing that she thinks he was deported because he was inked. She further said that the tattoos are of roses and the names of his family members.
Expert predicts dire conditions:
A political scientist at Emerson College, Mneesha Gellman, who researches human rights and violence, told the Guardian that the deportees would face “dire conditions and uncertain fates.”
“We don’t know how any of this will play out, because it’s never exactly happened before,” she said, adding, “Because these are Venezuelans being deported to a country most of them have never been.”
