US redirects deportation flights to Venezuela after Guantanamo Bay ruling

Three Venezuelan migrants who obtained a restraining order against the U. S. government to stop their relocation to Guantanamo Bay were deported this week on direct flights to Venezuela, as noted in court documents released on Friday.

The deportation occurred on Monday, merely a day after a federal court issued a temporary injunction prohibiting their transfer to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

Following President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, Venezuelan migrants are routinely transported from a military facility in El Paso, Texas, to Guantanamo as part of more stringent enforcement practices.

Lawyers for the deported individuals claimed that the U. S. government had incorrectly connected them to gang involvement, which could jeopardize their safety.

“The government’s unfounded claims in this situation that two of the (migrants) are associated with the notorious Tren de Aragua gang presents serious concerns regarding threats to their safety and liberty upon their return to Venezuela,” stated Jessica Myers Vosburgh, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, in a message to a federal judge.

In reaction, immigrant rights groups have submitted another complaint, requesting legal access for individuals relocated to Guantanamo Bay without legal representation or family communication.

Millions of Venezuelans have escaped the country due to intense economic and political instability under President Nicolás Maduro’s regime, looking for asylum in other Latin American countries or the United States.

The Tren de Aragua gang, which originated more than ten years ago in a prison in Venezuela’s central state of Aragua, has since broadened its criminal activities.