Latest news with #JerceReyesBarrios
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Soccer coach who says he was deported to CECOT over his tattoo celebrates his release
On Wednesday, more than a dozen children in lime green soccer uniform surrounded Jerce Reyes Barrios, hugging and jumping on their former coach as onlookers cheered. Earlier in the week, hundreds of residents of the Venezuelan town of Machiques de Perija lined the street and cheered as a Venezuelan National Guard truck pulled into town to drop Reyes Barrios off at his home. The crowd threw confetti, jumped up and down, and joyfully roared as he exited the vehicle. The exuberant homecoming was in stark contrast to the welcome he received in March at El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison, where he says he and over 200 other Venezuelan nationals, accused by the Trump administration of being members of the gang Tren de Aragua, were violently ushered into the facility. MORE: Man deported under Alien Enemies Act because of soccer logo tattoo: Attorney "Welcome to hell on earth, where you will be condemned and spend the rest of your life, where I will make sure you never eat chicken or meat again," Reyes Barrios recalled one prison guard allegedly telling the men. "That was when I shed my first tear and thought, wow -- my first time being psychologically abused," he told ABC News in an interview Friday, speaking in Spanish from his home in Venezuela, after being released from CECOT in a prisoner swap last week. Reyes Barrios and his fellow detainees were deported from the U.S. when the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act -- an 18th century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process -- by arguing that Tren de Aragua is a "hybrid criminal state" that is invading the United States. An official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledged shortly afterward that "many" of the men deported on March 15 lacked criminal records in the United States -- but said that "the lack of specific information about each individual" actually "demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile." In March, ABC News reported about Reyes Barrios' imprisonment after his attorney, Linette Tobin, submitted a sworn declaration and documents in court she said backed up her claim that her client had no criminal record in Venezuela or the United States, was employed as a professional soccer player and youth coach, and was falsely accused of being a gang member because of his tattoo which showed a crown on top of a soccer ball with a rosary and the word "Dios," meaning "God." Reyes Barrios' family echoed what his attorney said in court filings, and told ABC News that his tattoo was modeled after the Real Madrid soccer team logo. "I got the tattoo because my favorite team is Real Madrid, which has a crown on top of a circle symbolizing the ball, that's why I got it," Reyes Barrios told ABC News. "For me, soccer is the king of sports so it correlates with the soccer ball with the crown." Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement to ABC News, said, "DHS intelligence assessments go beyond tattoos, and we are confident in our findings. We aren't going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one. That would be insane." 'We were practically lied to' Reyes Barrios crossed the U.S.-Mexico border legally through the CBP One app in September 2025, but was accused of being a Tren de Aragua member and was detained at a facility under maximum security, court records show. "The investigator ... sees my tattoos and tells me this tattoo belongs to the Tren de Aragua gang. I was unaware of (the gang) because in Venezuela you don't really see that," Reyes Barrios said. MORE: 'You're going to see real hell': Venezuelan men allege physical and psychological abuse at Salvadoran prison DHS accused Reyes Barrios of having a gang-affiliated tattoo and also claimed there were photos showing him displaying gang signs. According to Tobin's declaration, those alleged gang signs were the hand symbols for "rock and roll" and "I love you" in sign language. After Tobin presented information about his lack of a criminal record and the source of the tattoo, which included a sworn declaration from the tattoo artist who designed it, Reyes Barrios was transferred out of maximum security. Despite having a court hearing set for April 17, he was transferred to a detention facility in Texas and was promptly deported to El Salvador on March 15, along with over 200 other men. He says ICE officials did not tell the men where they were being sent before they boarded the plane. "There were three planes, everyone clapping because we were going to Venezuela," he said. On the plane, ICE officials ordered the men to keep the windows closed. "The surprise for us -- when we landed in San Salvador," he said. "We were practically lied to." 'We could hear screams' The violent intake process at CECOT was caught on camera and published on social media by Trump administration officials and El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. Reyes Barrios said that once inside the prison, their heads were shaved and they were stripped naked and given prison uniforms. He claims guards beat the men throughout the entire process -- but the real terror started when the men were ushered into "Module 8." "You felt the tension entering that module because we could hear screams. We saw blood, we saw vomit ... people were fainting," he said. It was at that moment that he said a prison official welcomed the men to "hell on earth." From that moment on, Reyes Barrios said the men were not only isolated from other prisoners, but were also cut off from the world. They were unaware, he said, that a federal judge had unsuccessfully ordered the Trump administration to turn their planes around when the ACLU filed an emergency motion in court. "We couldn't see the sun, I mean, we didn't know anything. We said that we had been forgotten, that we were literally going to die there, that no one was fighting for us," he said. The men were regularly beaten, he said. Their beards grew long and unkept. He said the lights inside their crowded cells were kept on and the guards would regularly beat their batons against the bars to keep the men from sleeping during the day. When members of the Red Cross or other officials would visit the prison, Reyes Barrios says the prisoners were handed clean clothes and allowed to shower. They were given better food to maintain the appearance that they were being treated well, he said. "They would take one cell to supposedly go play soccer," he said. "They would have us pretend to play for five minutes, record a video, take a photo, and then back inside. No one else would go out. " The men passed the time playing games and exercising. Reyes Barrios said he read the Bible as he fell into depression. "I read a lot about Job's story because just as God gave Job the patience to endure everything that happened to him, I asked God to give me patience." Then, more than three months into their imprisonment, the men began to suspect something strange was happening when they were given haircuts. MORE: Migrants sent to El Salvador's CECOT returned to Venezuela in prisoner swap, 10 Americans freed: Officials At two in the morning, a guard told the men they had 20 minutes to shower. They started to suspect they were about to be released, Reyes Barrios said. "We start clapping, because they never send us to shower at two in the morning," he said. They were each given plain clothes, sneakers, and a sweater. "Some started crying and that moment was beautiful," he said. On July 18, more than 250 Venezuelan migrants were freed by El Salvador and transported to Venezuela. In exchange, the Venezuela's Maduro regime agreed to release 10 American prisoners from their custody. 'Am I dreaming?' A video taken by Reyes Barrios' sister showed the tearful moment he hugged his father after arriving back in his hometown of Machiques de Perija. "Could it be true or am I dreaming?" he says he asks himself now that he has been freed. "I pinch myself, yes it's real." "That welcome the people gave me, I didn't expect it, but that shows the U.S. government that I'm not a criminal," he said. Reyes Barrios says he has no plans of returning to the United States at the moment, but he fears being detained again. A team of lawyers is advising him on filing a potential lawsuit, but he has not yet made a decision. He said he's focused on spending time with his daughters and with God. "At night I would ask God to show me my future in dreams -- what will become of my life," Reyes Barrios recalled of his time in CECOT. "I dreamed of being in my town with my daughters with my parents, and I'd head straight to the soccer field," he said.
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
‘Hell on earth.' A Venezuelan deportee describes abuse in El Salvador prison
CARACAS, Venezeula — When Jerce Reyes Barrios and other Venezuelan deportees entered a maximum security prison in El Salvador this spring, he said guards greeted them with taunts. 'Welcome to El Salvador, you sons of bitches,' Reyes Barrios said the guards told them. 'You've arrived at the Terrorist Confinement Center. Hell on earth.' What followed, Reyes Barrios said, were the darkest months of his life. Reyes Barrios said he was regularly beaten on his neck, ribs and head. He and other prisoners were given little food and forced to drink contaminated water. They slept on metal beds with no mattresses in overcrowded cells, listening to the screams of other inmates. 'There was blood, vomit and people passed out on the floor, he said. Reyes Barrios, 36, was one of more than 250 Venezuelans sent to El Salvador from the United States in March after President Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without normal immigration procedures. Many of the men, including Reyes Barrios, insist that they have no ties to the gang and were denied due process. After enduring months in detention in El Salvador, they were sent home last week as part of a prisoner exchange deal that included Venezuela's release of several detained Americans. Venezuela's attorney general said interviews with the men revealed 'systemic torture' inside the Salvadoran prison, including daily beatings, rancid food and sexual abuse. One of the former detainees, Neiyerver Adrián León Rengel, filed a claim Thursday with the Homeland Security Department, accusing the U.S. of removing him without due process and asking for $1.3 million in damages. Reyes Barrios spoke to The Times over video Thursday after returning to his hometown of Machiques, a city of 140,000 not far from the Colombian border. He was overjoyed to be reunited with his mother, his wife and his children. But he said he was haunted by his experience in prison. A onetime professional soccer player, Reyes Barrios left Venezuela last year amid political unrest and in search of economic opportunity. He entered the U.S. on Sept. 1 at the Otay Mesa border crossing in California under the asylum program known as CBP One. He was immediately detained, accused of being a gangster and placed in custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A court statement earlier this year from his attorney, Linette Tobin, said authorities tied Reyes Barrios to Tren de Aragua based solely on an arm tattoo and a social media post in which he made a hand gesture that U.S. authorities interpreted as a gang sign. The tattoo — a crown sitting atop a soccer ball, with a rosary and the word 'Díos' or 'God' — is actually an homage to his favorite team, Real Madrid, Tobin wrote. She said the hand gesture is sign language for 'I Love You.' While in custody in California, Reyes Barrios applied for political asylum and other relief. A hearing had been set for April 17, but on March 15, he was deported to El Salvador 'with no notice to counsel or family,' Tobin wrote. Reyes Barrios 'has never been arrested or charged with a crime,' Tobin added. 'He has a steady employment record as a soccer player as well as a soccer coach for children and youth.' The surprise deportation of Reyes Barrios and other Venezuelans to El Salvador drew outcry from human rights advocates and spurred a legal battle with the Trump administration. Reyes Barrios was not aware of the controversy over deportations as he was ushered in handcuffs from the airport in San Salvador to the country's infamous Terrorism Confinement Center, also known as CECOT. There, Reyes Barrios said he and other inmates were forced to walk on their knees as their heads were shaved and they were repeatedly beaten. He said he was put in a cell with 21 other men — all Venezuelans. Guards meted out measly portions of beans and tortillas and told the inmates they 'would never eat chicken or meat again.' El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, has detained tens of thousands of his compatriots in CECOT and other prisons in recent years, part of a gang crackdown that human rights advocates say has ensnared thousands of innocent people. Bukele garnered worldwide attention and praise from U.S. Republicans after he published dramatic photos and videos showing hundreds of prisoners crammed together in humiliating positions, wearing nothing but underwear and shackles. During a meeting with Bukele at the Oval Office this year, Trump said he was interested in sending 'homegrowns' — i.e. American prisoners — to El Salvador's jails. A spokeswoman for Bukele did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. Reyes Barrios said guards told him and the other detained Venezuelans that they would spend the rest of their lives in the prison. Reyes Barrios said he started praying at night: 'God, protect my mother and my children. I entrust my soul to you because I think I'm going to die.' Then, several days ago, he and the other prisoners were awakened by yelling in the early morning hours. Guards told them they had 20 minutes to take showers and prepare to leave. 'At that moment, we all shouted with joy,' Reyes Barrios said. 'I think that was my only happy day at CECOT.' After arriving in Venezuela, Reyes Barrios and the other returnees spent days in government custody, undergoing medical checks and interviews with officials. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has seized on the treatment of prisoners, airing videos on state television in which some deportees describe suffering abuses including rape, beatings and being shot at with pellet guns. Venezuelan authorities say they are investigating Bukele over the alleged abuse. Maduro, a leftist authoritarian who has ruled Venezuela since 2013, has maintained his grip on power by jailing — and sometimes torturing — opponents. Many of the 7.7 million Venezuelans who have fled the country in recent years have cited political repression as one reason for leaving. In Tobin's court statement, she said Reyes Barrios participated in two demonstrations against Maduro in early 2024. After the second, Reyes Barrios was detained by authorities along with other protesters and tortured, she wrote. Reyes Barrios said he did not wish to discuss Venezuelan politics. He said he was just grateful to be back with his family. 'My mother is very happy, ' he said. He was greeted in his hometown by some of the young soccer players he once coached. They wore their uniforms and held balloons. Reyes Barrios juggled a ball a bit, gave the kids hugs and high fives, and smiled. Linthicum reported from Mexico City and Mogollón, a special correspondent, from Caracas. Times staff writer Patrick J. McDonnell contributed from Mexico City.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Why tattoos are such an unreliable marker of gang membership
The United States deported 238 Venezuelan men on three flights to El Salvador on March 15, 2025, claiming that they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang that originated in Venezuela. Immigration officials have said that tattoos were not the sole criteria used when deciding whom to deport; however, a government document showed that officials relied on tattoos and clothing to determine gang membership. A lawyer for Jerce Reyes Barrios, a professional soccer player who is among the Venezuelans deported to El Salvador, says the government detained and deported her client because he has a tattoo of a soccer ball with a crown on top, which resembles the logo of his favorite soccer team, Real Madrid. The tattoo and a photograph of Barrios making a hand sign that means 'I love you' in sign language are the only two pieces of evidence the government has presented of his gang ties, according to the lawyer. Meanwhile, deported Venezuelan makeup artist Andry José Hernández Romero has a tattoo of a crown on each wrist, one with 'Dad' and one with 'Mom' written next to each crown. Immigration authorities indicated in his file that these tattoos were 'determining factors to conclude reasonable suspicion' of his membership in the Tren de Aragua gang. Some government sources list crowns as a tattoo common for Tren de Aragua members, but other government sources cast doubt on that claim. Whether or not the Trump administration used tattoos as a sole criteria for deportation, I've found in my own research that simply using tattoos as any sort of criteria can lead law enforcement astray. In 2023, I analyzed the reliability of tattoos as markers of gang membership in the Washington Law Review. The bottom line: While many people in gangs have tattoos that demonstrate their membership, many people who have absolutely no gang ties also get similar tattoos. Relying on them to determine gang membership has led to systematically misidentifying people as gang members – particularly as tattoos have become more popular. There are some types of tattoos that can be especially misleading. In 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Daniel Ramirez Medina, who was lawfully in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The government attempted to strip his status and deport him, claiming he was a gang member due to a tattoo that read 'La Paz BCS.' La Paz is the capital of the Mexican state Baja California Sur, which is abbreviated 'BCS.' The only evidence of gang membership that ICE agents presented in immigration court was this tattoo. But they overlooked the fact that tattoos depicting the names or area codes of hometowns or countries of origin are a common way for people to honor where they came from. This is particularly the case for people who migrate or move away from their homelands. For example, tattoos of '503' and '504' – the country codes used to dial El Salvador and Honduras, respectively – have been relied upon to allege gang membership, even as many people who have these tattoos deny any gang ties and have no criminal records. Law enforcement has also relied on tattoos of the words 'Mexican,' 'Chicano' or 'Brown Pride' as evidence of gang membership. Some gangs, such as the Mexican Mafia, include a reference to nationality in the name of the gang. And in the U.S., street gangs are often based in specific neighborhoods, with many gangs incorporating the city or street where they're based into gang names and associated tattoos. For this reason, tattoos celebrating a city or country can only lead to confusion. Tattoos of Mayan or Aztec images have also been used to designate people as gang members, even though these tattoos are clear expressions of cultural identity and do not necessarily have any nexus to gang membership. While some gangs do use specific Aztec symbols to identify members, it's virtually impossible to distinguish a tattoo of cultural or geographic significance from a tattoo indicating gang association. In the case of Medina, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez, a George W. Bush appointee, ordered that his DACA status remain in place and that he be protected from deportation because ICE's 'conclusory findings' that he was a gang member were 'contradicted by experts and other evidence.' Furthermore, an immigration judge who reviewed all the evidence had already concluded that he was not in a gang. Martinez was clearly disturbed by ICE's claims, writing, 'Most troubling to the Court is the continued assertion that Mr. Ramirez is gang-affiliated, despite providing no evidence specific to Mr. Ramirez to the Immigration Court in connection with his administrative proceedings, and offering no evidence to this Court to support its assertions four months later.' Tattoos of popular Catholic religious images, such as the Virgin of Guadalupe, praying hands and rosaries, have also been used to label people as gang members, a move that would seem to be clearly overbroad. While some gang members may be Catholic, no one would even try to allege that all Catholics are gang members. At least one of the deported Venezuelan men had a tattoo of a rosary, along with tattoos of a clock and the names of his mother and niece with crowns atop the text. Tattoos have also become an important way for people to celebrate popular culture. Tattoos of a woman's lips, for example, have become popular among gang members and non-gang members alike. A number of professional athletes, including soccer phenom Lionel Messi, have tattoos of their partner's lips. However, this is also a tattoo law enforcement uses to categorize people as gang members. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, tattoos of stars on shoulders, crowns, firearms, grenades, trains, dice, roses, tigers and jaguars are common among members of Tren de Aragua. The issue, of course, is that these symbols are also popular among people with no connection to the gang. Understanding the problem really comes down to math. While it may be true that many gang members have tattoos of the images listed above, it is also true that many non-gang members have similar tattoos. The Bayesian mathematical approach involves making inferences about probabilities based on available information. The probability that a gang member has a certain tattoo isn't the same as the probability that an individual who has a certain tattoo is a gang member. The U.S. government seems to be wrongfully equating the two. Writing about the broader problems of discerning gang membership in 2009, sociologist David Kennedy argued that the law's inability to devise rules 'that clearly distinguish a gang and a football team, or a gang member and his mother' suggests that taking 'legal action, based on imprecise language [is] something of a problem.' This problem becomes magnified when there's no due process for the accused – which is exactly what happened to the Venezuelan men whisked off to El Salvador. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Beth C. Caldwell, Southwestern Law School Read more: Prosecutors are increasingly – and misleadingly – using rap lyrics as evidence in court What it's like to be gay and in a gang Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador sparks legal questions likely to reach the Supreme Court I collaborated on an amicus brief based on this research that was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Department of State v. Munoz in 2024.
