'Having tattoos is not a crime' - Relatives of detained Venezuelans desperate for their return

Record ID: 1984669

  • Title: 'Having tattoos is not a crime' - Relatives of detained Venezuelans desperate for their return
  • Date: 20th March 2025
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MOTHER OF U.S. DEPORTEE TO EL SALVADOR, JOSEFINA ROMERO, SAYING: “I know nothing about him and this week I discovered he belongs to the Tren de Aragua (criminal gang). If he does belong to the Tren de Aragua, I would be living well, I wouldn’t be starving. What they’re doing with these boys is unfair. They can’t blame them just for having tattoos. My
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: El Salvador Tren de Aragua United States Venezuela deportation migrants migration tattoo
  • Location: VALENCIA, CARABOBO, VENEZUELA
  • City: VALENCIA, CARABOBO, VENEZUELA
  • Country: Venezuela
  • Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,South America / Central America,Government/Politics,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA003052720032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Relatives of Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S. over the weekend and being held in a high-security prison in El Salvador said on Thursday (March 20) that the deportees have no criminal records or ties to a Venezuelan gang.
    The families are demanding El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele sends them home.
    Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which he said allowed him to deport alleged members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The migrants are being held in El Salvador under an agreement with President Nayib Bukele's government.
    Three families, hailing from the Caribbean state of Carabobo, say their loved ones are innocent despite having tattoos, after reading on social media and having heard that U.S. authorities have linked them to the gang.
    “The fact that they have tattoos doesn’t mean they belong to the Tren de Aragua. Nowadays, everyone has tattoos,” Josefina Romero, the mother of U.S. deportee to El Salvador, Wild Chirinos Romero, said.
    “If I have to go to El Salvador for him, if they don’t want to bring him back, I will search for him and bring him back on foot, whatever, but release him from there,” Carlos Penaloza, the father of U.S. deportee Ysqueibel Penaloza, told Reuters as he fought back his tears.
    (Production: Johnny Carvajal, Efrain Otero, Anna Portella)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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