The Men Trump Deported to a Salvadoran Prison

Tortosa left Venezuela for Ecuador in 2020, his mother told us. After four years, he traveled to the U.S., where he surrendered to the authorities. He settled in Texas and worked in construction. He broke his heel in a November 2024 accident, which left him unable to work or pay his rent, his mother said. In early 2025, he called his mother to tell her that he was going to the authorities to voluntarily self-deport. Tortosa’s family lost contact with him and then found his name on a list of deportees to El Salvador. “The American dream has become a nightmare for him and for us,” his mother said. He has a star tattooed on each shoulder, based on his social media feed. It’s unclear if the tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Tortosa as having a criminal conviction for invasion of privacy. We found records showing he was charged with criminal trespassing in Harris County, Texas, in November 2024. He pleaded guilty the following month and was sentenced to 25 days of confinement, time which he received credit for already serving. “There’s nothing about him that in any way I would associate with a gang, and that was in no way connected to what he was accused of,” his criminal attorney, Michael R. A. Mueller, told us. “It was a low-level charge that would not have affected his immigration status in this country.” His mother was not aware of the charges. “He didn’t tell me, maybe not to worry me,” she said, but “my son is no Tren de Aragua.”

Silva worked in construction, as a waiter and at a popcorn stand while in Venezuela and then at a call center in Colombia, where he and his family had relocated in 2016. “What didn’t Carlos Julio do?” his mother told us. Silva later migrated to the U.S., where he hoped to earn enough money to help support his mother. In July 2024, he texted his mom excitedly after completing an interview at his appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app. The Biden administration used the app to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. A half hour later, he was detained after staff at the facility asked for Venezuelans to identify themselves, his mother told us. He remained in detention until he was deported to El Salvador and imprisoned. He had a pending asylum application at the time, according to our analysis of immigration court data. Silva has tattoos covering his back, arms and neck, including one that says “Gangsta” in cursive lettering on the back of his neck and a colorful illustration featuring two women’s faces and a flower covering his entire back. It’s unclear if his tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. The morning of March 15, Silva told his mom that an immigration official had ripped up his asylum case paperwork and told him, “Where you’re going, you won’t need these.”

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 entered the U.S. with an appointment with border officials made via the CBP One app, his father told Telesur, a Venezuelan television station. The Biden administration used the app to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. Mendoza’s tattoos include a clock, a map of Venezuela and a rose. It’s unclear if they played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Mendoza as having pending criminal charges. We could not find related court or police records, and the Trump administration declined to provide information to support the claim.

Carmona migrated to the U.S. in 2023 and settled in Washington, D.C., where he worked in construction and carpentry, his sister told us. About a year later, he moved to New York and worked as a deliveryman for DoorDash. In New York, he shared an apartment with five other Venezuelan men. All six were detained in February when immigration officers entered their apartment one morning, his sister told us. The officers had been looking for someone else in an apartment downstairs and began knocking on doors. Four of the roommates, including Carmona, are being detained at the Salvadoran prison, his sister said. Carmona has several tattoos, including “Mora y Simón,” his parents’ names, on his left arm, his and his father’s initials on his shoulders, and a rosary. It’s unclear if the tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. Before he was detained, his sister said, he would call his father almost every day when he finished work. During his time in prison in El Salvador, his father, who was already sick and dealing with the effects of a stroke, had a second stroke, his family told us. Carmona has two children in Venezuela.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data obtained by the news organizations, and no court or police records were found.

Manzo and his wife left Venezuela in December 2023, according to the nonprofit Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. When they arrived in the U.S. in March 2024, his pregnant wife was allowed in but he was deported to Mexico. In October, he got 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. Manzo was detained at his appointment and remained in immigration custody until he was sent to El Salvador. His daughter was born while he was in custody. His sister told Mother Jones that Manzo has a tattoo of a clock, which he’d gotten while living and working in Mexico as he waited for his CBP One appointment. It’s unclear if his tattoos 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.

Leal left Venezuela in 2017 with his mother and lived for a time in Peru, according to his father, Luis Leal. In 2023, he migrated to the U.S., crossing the border near Brownsville, Texas, and turned himself in to Border Patrol agents, his father said. Afterward, he went to live with his father and brother in Las Vegas. The family later moved to Dallas and then to Houston, where he worked in construction and cleaned air conditioning units, his father said. Leal was visiting his girlfriend’s family in New Jersey when he was detained during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation at a gas station, according to his father. While in custody, he decided to drop his immigration case and return to Venezuela, saying he could no longer bear being detained, his mother, who has since returned to Venezuela, told us. His girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time, agreed to go with him. She miscarried after Leal was imprisoned in El Salvador, his father said. It’s unclear if Leal’s tattoos, which included a clown-like figure, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Leal as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that, in August 2024, he was arrested for possession of meth, a felony, in Dallas County, Texas. We also found records showing that, in October, he was arrested and then charged with shoplifting clothing and other merchandise from a Walmart in Charlotte, North Carolina. The case was pending as of mid-June, and it’s not clear if he entered a plea. His father told us he didn’t know anything about a charge in North Carolina and noted that the address listed on the ticket for his son was incorrect. Neither case amounted to a crime worthy of sending his son to a prison in El Salvador, the father said.

Little public information is available about Orta’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. 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.

Little public information is available about Zambrano’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. 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.

Little public information is available about Zarraga’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S., other than he appeared to have lived in Peru and had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. His mother said that she is certain her son hasn’t committed any crimes, and that he didn’t deserve to be in the Salvadoran prison. “His only crime was being an immigrant,” she said.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Zarraga as having pending criminal charges. We could not find related court or police records, and the Trump administration declined to provide information to support the claim. According to Peruvian police records, he was expelled from the country in 2020, barred from reentering and sent to Venezuela on a flight with other migrants, although the reasons for his expulsion are unclear. Three years later, Zarraga was arrested twice in Peru, for stealing a cellphone, trafficking in small quantities of drugs and illegal possession of weapons, according to records from the Peruvian police. We could not find related Peruvian court records for Zarraga.

Hernández left for the U.S. in 2024, following three friends he had grown up with and played soccer with in their Venezuelan neighborhood, according to The Washington Post. His mother said he was detained after crossing the border and questioned by officers about his tattoos. He was eventually released with a court date in 2027, the Post reported. He settled in Dallas and worked in a tortilla factory. In March, immigration officers detained the four friends at their home, according to the newspaper. Days later, they were flown to El Salvador. A family friend told us Hernández had entered the U.S. through 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. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include a branch on his chest and an owl on his arm, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. He has a young daughter who has posted videos on Facebook begging for her father’s return.

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.