A 60 Minutes investigation refutes the Trump administration’s claim that 238 Venezuelan men deported to El Salvador’s CECOT prison are terrorists or gang members. The investigation revealed that 75% of the men had no known criminal records. The administration’s justification relies on flimsy evidence, such as social media posts and tattoos, while withholding supposedly incriminating information. This lack of evidence suggests the deportations serve primarily as political propaganda to deter illegal immigration. The administration’s efforts to conceal this lack of evidence are increasingly undermined by revealed instances of wrongful deportations.
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The Trump administration deported Neri Jose Alvarado Borges, a Venezuelan man with no criminal record, to El Salvador, despite a court order halting such deportations. ICE officials wrongly linked Alvarado Borges’s autism awareness tattoos to gang affiliation, justifying his expulsion. This incident is one of many where Venezuelan migrants, including Luis Carlos Jose Marcano Silva, were similarly deported based on misinterpretations of their tattoos. Families of the deportees assert their relatives are not criminals and were driven to the U.S. by economic hardship and political instability in Venezuela.
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Venezuela’s minister of information claims that none of the individuals deported from the United States to El Salvador were members of the Tren de Aragua gang. He asserts this with complete confidence, stating that he has reviewed lists of deportees obtained from both US media and his own sources, and found no connection to the organization.
However, the assertion of the gang’s extinction is questionable, to say the least. Many dispute this claim, pointing out that the gang’s continued activity contradicts the minister’s statement. The minister’s credibility is also heavily debated, with some pointing to his past and current legal status—a $25 million bounty on his head—to cast doubt on his claims.… Continue reading
Despite a federal judge’s order halting their deportation, over 200 Venezuelans, allegedly members of the Tren de Aragua gang, were flown from the US to El Salvador’s maximum-security Cecot prison. The US government, citing the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, maintained the deportations were lawful as they occurred before the order was issued. This action has drawn criticism from rights groups who allege a violation of due process and racist targeting, while Venezuela condemned the invocation of the historic law. The Department of Justice has appealed the judge’s ruling.
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John Q. Hosedrinker 
Matt Underwood