Washington (United States) (AFP) – A Venezuelan man deported by the United States last year to a notorious prison in El Salvador filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday seeking $1.3 million in damages. Neiyerver Adrian Leon Rengel, 28, was among a group of nearly 140 Venezuelans who were sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration, which accused them of being members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).
In his complaint, Leon Rengel said he was “wrongly identified” as a TdA member, “repeatedly denied due process, falsely imprisoned, intentionally deceived, and — ultimately — illegally sent to El Salvador.” At the time of his arrest in Texas, “the only justification offered by (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers was that Plaintiff’s tattoos indicated his membership in TdA,” it said.
Leon Rengel spent four months in CECOT prison, “where Salvadoran officials subjected him to physical and psychological abuse, humiliation, and degradation,” the complaint said. “He was beaten by guards, subjected to inhumane and overcrowded conditions as well as extreme psychological trauma, denied adequate medical care, and held without contact with his family or any legal counsel,” it said. CECOT is a huge, maximum security prison, centerpiece of El Salvador’s attempt to rid the Central American country of narco-gangs.
CBS News, which interviewed Leon Rengel, said he is the first member of the deported group of Venezuelans to sue the United States for damages. Leon Rengel told CBS he is not interested in returning to the United States but just wants to clear his name. He said he was seeking Temporary Protected Status in the United States at the time of his arrest, which would shield him from deportation, and was awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge.
Leon Rengel is asking for at least $1.3 million in damages for “loss of liberty” and “emotional distress.” The United States sent the Venezuelans to El Salvador in March of last year, justifying their removal by citing the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), an obscure law from 1798 that was last used to round up Japanese-American citizens during World War II. The alleged TdA members were later transferred from El Salvador to Venezuela in a prisoner swap.
Several federal courts around the country have ruled that the use of the AEA to carry out deportations was unlawful. The AEA allows the government to detain and deport citizens of hostile foreign nations in times of war or during an “invasion or predatory incursion.”
© 2024 AFP
