The Men Trump Deported to a Salvadoran Prison

Rojas worked as a carpenter in Venezuela with his father, according to his fiancée, Blanca Martínez, whom he met in the U.S. He then moved to Ecuador for several years, where he worked in a shop that sold roasted chickens, Martínez said. In 2023, Rojas came to the U.S. and received temporary protected status, she said, which allowed him to live and work legally in the U.S. He worked with racehorses in Louisiana. He has two children in Venezuela, ages 7 and 11, whose names he tattooed on his arm, as well as a clock on his hand showing when they were born. It’s not clear if those tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. Martínez was with Rojas the day he got arrested for driving with an expired license plate. She paid his bond but said police quickly turned him over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Since his detention, Martínez said she has taken on the responsibility of sending money to Venezuela to support his children. She and Rojas planned to get married and move to Mexico, where Martínez was born, to open a restaurant together, she said. “They changed (our plans) overnight, but I am not losing faith,” Martínez said.

He is flagged as having pending criminal charges in U.S. government data we obtained. We found records showing in January, he was charged with driving with no license, no registration and an expired license plate in court in Bossier Parish, Louisiana.

Little public information is available about Morillo’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. What is known is that he had a pending asylum application at the time he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. Please reach out if you have information to share.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Albornoz lived in Peru for about four years before migrating to the U.S. with his wife in January 2024, about a year before he was detained. After crossing the border, they turned themselves in to authorities and requested asylum. A trained mechanic, Albornoz found jobs doing repairs and delivering food in Texas. His wife was nine months pregnant when he was sent to El Salvador; their son was born two weeks later. “He was so excited, buying things for the baby,” his sister told us. During his time in the Salvadoran prison, Albornoz’s wife relied on charity from a local church to support the family. Albornoz also has a 10-year-old son who struggled to attend school during his absence. Albornoz has a tattoo of a dragon on his arm; he also has one of a small crown over his heart, which he got when his son was born. It’s unclear if the tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. Immigration court records show he had a pending asylum application when he was deported to El Salvador.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

As a teenager, Azuaje migrated to Peru with his family before heading to the U.S. in 2023, Jennifer Piper of the American Friends Service Committee’s Denver Immigrant Rights Program told us. The family entered with an appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. The family settled in New York City. In December of that year, Azuaje moved with his older brother to Aurora, Colorado, where he worked construction and cared for friends’ children in exchange for a place to stay.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Azuaje as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that he and his brother were arrested for allegedly tampering with evidence in July 2024 after a shooting at their Aurora apartment complex. The brothers allegedly picked up some empty bullet casings outside their apartment and tossed them into the central courtyard, police say. The brothers told police they “had absolutely nothing to do with the shooting” and had moved the casings because they didn’t want officers to think that they were involved, records show. In a September 2024 statement, the Aurora Police Department said that the brothers were “suspected to be members” of the Tren de Aragua gang. But a department spokesperson told us that police did not find sufficient evidence that they were gang members. Azuaje pleaded not guilty to the evidence tampering charges and was awaiting trial when he was deported. His defense attorney declined to comment. His brother pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor tampering charge in May and was sentenced to 90 days in jail with credit for the time he had already served.

The family had moved to Colombia in 2016 amid Venezuela’s economic crisis, Palencia’s father told the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo. Later, Palencia decided to migrate to the U.S. in search of a better life and found work in construction in Miami, according to the newspaper. Palencia, who has a daughter and a wife in Colombia, had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include the name of his daughter, a clock and flowers, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Pineda lived and worked in California, his mother, Jessica Lezama, told VTV, a Venezuelan state-run television station. He turned himself in to U.S. immigration officials in May 2024 and was released with a GPS tracker as he awaited a court date for his immigration case. In January, he was detained during a routine check-in with immigration officials and transferred to a detention center in Texas, according to his mother. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which included a clown and a person’s name, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Testa, a tattoo artist, previously migrated to Colombia, where he worked as a painter. He later migrated to the U.S. seeking to better provide for his three children, ages 5, 10 and 17, and buy a home in Venezuela, his wife, Yetcenia Zabala, told us. In April 2024, he entered the U.S. with an appointment with border officials made via the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. About nine months later, he was detained by immigration officials in San Antonio while exiting the shop he used to wire money to Zabala. He had an immigration hearing scheduled for March 12, but she said he never showed up because he was in detention and immigration officers didn’t take him. His tattoos include the names of his children, flowers, stars, a dragon and an eagle, according to Zabala. It’s unclear if they played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Mendoza is a former member of the Venezuela National Guard who left his country for the U.S. about a year ago, his mother, Carmen Núñez, told reporters. His wife, Iralis Patiño, told VTV, a state-run Venezuelan television station, that he was detained in January during an immigration check-in. He was held in a California detention center for about a month before being transferred to Texas. He had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include a crown with the date his daughter died, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Hurtado and his mother entered the U.S. in August 2024 with an appointment with border officials made via the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. Hurtado was taken into custody, while she was allowed to enter the country. Immigration court records show he had a pending asylum application when he was sent to El Salvador. His mother said on social media that he has panic and anxiety attacks that were diagnosed while in detention in the U.S. In a letter posted online, Hurtado’s mother wrote that he tried to take his life in 2022 when they lived temporarily in Peru “due to a deep depression.” It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include leaves and a spiderweb, played a role in the government labeling Hurtado a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Lugo, a father of two, lived in Dallas before his arrest and detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He posted prolifically on TikTok, documenting his journey to the U.S. with his family and where he worked in restaurants and in other jobs. Lugo has tattoos, including one of a woman, according to posts on social media. It’s unclear if those tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Lugo as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing he was charged with misdemeanor assault of a family member in Dallas in November 2024. He pleaded guilty in February and then was detained by ICE. According to Venezuelan judicial records, he was previously charged in a case involving the use of a fake firearm in alleged robberies in 2015. Court documents show a judge ordered him released. A Maracaibo, Venezuela, newspaper also named Lugo as one of six men who escaped a prison in the state of Falcón in 2017, where he had been detained on charges of aggravated robbery.