Andry Hernandez Romero spent four months detained at the Terrorist Confinement Center (Cecot) in El Salvador and completed one month of freedom after release. U.S. immigration authorities handcuffed and deported him in mid-March under the Alien Enemies Act, accusing him of membership in the Tren de Aragua criminal gang. Family and friends presented evidence of his twelve-year career as a professional makeup artist and artistic activities to contest the accusation. More than 200 compatriots without criminal records were deported alongside him, highlighting aggressive U.S. immigration actions under the Trump administration. He returned to Capacho in the Venezuelan Andes and was welcomed by neighbors and relatives. Relatives founded a committee to defend Táchira residents deported to El Salvador and support detainees.
"Our lives have changed completely, in every way. Our bodies are free today, but our minds are still there. We still don't understand many things, we still don't remember many things,"
"I was shocked to see his fingernails. They were like a homeless person's. He's a man who takes great care of his personal image... It hurt me to see him so emaciated,"
"I never set foot on a street in that country,"
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