Franco Caraballo, a 26-year-old Venezuelan barber, was unexpectedly flown from a Texas detention center to El Salvador, where he was imprisoned along with 200 other Venezuelan migrants. They were accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, despite many having no criminal records or evidence linking them to the group. Caraballo’s name disappeared from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee locator, leaving his wife, Johanny Sanchez, anxious and searching for answers.
The deportations followed President Trump’s use of the Aliens Enemies Act of 1798, enabling the removal of noncitizens without legal recourse. However, many deported individuals, including Caraballo, were wrongly suspected of gang affiliation based on tattoos or other unfounded claims. Families of the detainees’ face difficulty finding information, as El Salvador has no online system for tracking inmates and the U.S. government has paid $6 million to have the detainees held in El Salvador’s maximum-security prisons.
The Venezuelan government has criticized the deportations, and few advocates exist for the detainees due to limited diplomatic relations between Venezuela and El Salvador. Many families are now working to reunite with loved ones who have been caught in a complex immigration process.
Sources:
Goodman, Joshua. Salomon, Gisela. “Immigrants disappear from US detainee tracking system after deportation flights” March 19, 2025.
