Venezuelan President Maduro condemned the U.S. deportation of over 200 Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, labeling it a ‘kidnapping.’ He asserts the deportees are innocent, promising to seek their return while prompting significant public protests in Venezuela. The deportations were executed under claims of gang affiliation, despite a lack of evidence from U.S. authorities.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro condemned the recent deportation of over 200 alleged gang members from the U.S. to a large prison in El Salvador, labeling it a “kidnapping.” He rejected claims that the deported individuals were criminals and demanded their return. Maduro emphasized, “They did not commit any crime in the United States, none,” urging El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to refrain from complicity in this action.
Maduro criticized the lack of legal proceedings for those deported, stating they were denied due process. He described their deportation as deceptive, likening it to being sent to a “concentration camp in El Salvador.” In response, Venezuela plans to send an official request for the repatriation of these individuals, backed by a petition featuring millions of citizen signatures.
The deportation has stirred public outrage in Venezuela, igniting protests in Caracas where demonstrators expressed solidarity with those deported. Many families have denied their relatives’ involvement in criminal activities. Additionally, Maduro pledged to increase efforts to repatriate Venezuelan migrants detained in the U.S., assuring them of dignity and support upon their return.
The deportations were executed under orders from former President Trump, under the allegation that the detainees were connected to the Tren de Aragua gang—a group involved in human trafficking and other illegal activities. This group was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration earlier this year.
Trump utilized the Alien Enemies Act to authorize these deportations, coinciding with a claim of a migrant “invasion.” Despite this, concrete evidence linking the deportees to criminal activities has not been publicly provided by the White House, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mentioned that it had reviewed their backgrounds, although the identities of the deported individuals remain undisclosed.
Venezuelan President Maduro has strongly opposed the deportation of Venezuelans to El Salvador, branding it a ‘kidnapping’ and vowing to seek their return. The deportations, which implicated alleged links to a notorious gang, have sparked widespread protests in Venezuela. While Maduro assures repatriation efforts, the U.S. continues to assert these individuals are tied to criminal groups despite lacking publicly available evidence linking them directly to crime.
Original Source: www.newsx.com
