'Deceived' Venezuelans protest US deportations
CARACAS
Relatives of Venezuelan migrants sent by the United States to a Salvadoran prison protested on March 22 for their release, joining other families who said they were "deceived" in believing they were headed to Venezuela.
Over 200 Venezuelans were flown from the United States on March 16 to a maximum security prison and forced labor camp in El Salvador, after President Donald Trump invoked wartime powers to expel alleged gang members.
The decision has triggered a legal standoff in Washington, after a judge tried to block the deportation flights, and in Venezuela it has sparked outrage among family members.
The Trump administration argues that the 238 were members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang, and at the very least illegal immigrants to the United States.
But Venezuelan relatives claim that many of those shipped to El Salvador without trial were not criminals and were in some cases tricked into surrendering.
"How come so many people said they were coming to Venezuela and today they are in El Salvador?" demanded Gladys Coromoto Rojas, grandmother of deportee Kenlyn Rodriguez.
The family of 36-year-old Maikel Rojas Olivera explained that he had been in touch to tell them he was coming home to Venezuela on March 22, only to be shipped to El Salvador.
"We demand that they bring all those innocent boys from El Salvador to their country," his sister said.
The Venezuelan government has called the detention of Venezuelan migrants in El Salvador a kidnapping and announced the hiring of a law firm to manage their return to the country.
