Venezuelan Mother Says Her Son Was Sent to El Salvador as a ‘Terrorist,’ She Says He’s Just a Barber

The mother of one of the more than 200 alleged Venezuelan “terrorists” deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration last week is asking for his case to be reviewed. According to Mirelys Casique, her son, Francisco García–identified as an alleged member of the Tren de Aragua gang– is a barber with no gang affiliations.

“Terrorists” Sent to El Salvador

On Sunday, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, announced the country had taken in 238 members of the Tren de Aragua gang (which is now considered a terrorist organization by the U.S.), fulfilling part of an unprecedented deal between the Central American country and the Trump administration. Along with the announcement, images of the migrants being transferred into El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT)–where they will reportedly be kept and made to work for at least a year–started circling online, causing strong reactions.

Among the images, a photo of handcuffed men sitting head-down on the floor called the attention of García’s family. “We recognized him because of his tattoos,” Casique told Telemundo from her home in Venezuela. According to the mother, immigration officers took her son into custody on February 6.

A Barber, Not a Gang Member

The mother told the Spanish news outlet that her 24-year-old son is a barber with no gang affiliations. “I ask that they have Interpol investigate him… so that they know he is not a criminal, he does not have a criminal background…send him back to his country,” she pleaded.

Casique last spoke with her son on Saturday morning. He told her he was going to be deported, but did not know where. Shortly after their last call, García’s name disappeared from the website of U.S. immigration authorities. His family has not heard from him since.

The family has no proof–apart from a photograph–that García is among the group of men taken to El Salvador. Neither government has made public the names of the deportees or offered evidence of the migrants’ ties to the Tren de Aragua gang.

Tattoos and Tren de Aragua Affiliations

The Venezuelan mother told the New York Times that García’s only crime was crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2023. She also shared that her son was detained last year because of his tattoos. However, a judge let García go after ruling he was not a danger to society.

Casique believes her son has been labeled as a Tren de Aragua “terrorist” due to his body art, particularly one image depicting a crown with the word “peace” and the names of his mother, grandmother and sisters.

The Venezuelan mother is not alone. Earlier this year, the Trump administration flew a group of 10 alleged Tren de Aragua members to the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Peggy Paz, the mother of one of those men, told Texas Public Radio that her 25-year-old son, Jhoan Bastidas, was detained largely because of his tattoos after reaching the U.S.-Mexico border to request asylum in 2023.

“He’s never done anything wrong,” she told the NPR affiliate. “The only bad thing he’s ever done was get those tattoos I told him not to get.”

According to court records obtained by the radio station, Bastidas, a construction worker, had no criminal history aside from a charge for improper entry into the country. His mother said he got the tattoos because they were fashionable at the time.

A Crackdown on Body Art?

While Trump officials frame these deportees as hardened criminals, some political observers remain skeptical due to a lack of evidence being shared by federal authorities.

Immigration attorney John R. De La Vega is among those questioning the government’s approach. In a post on X, he shared a collage of tattoos allegedly associated with the Tren de Aragua and warned migrants to avoid getting inked with these symbols. The images included a star, a crown, a train, a rose, a long rifle, and the number “23.”

“Caution in times of uncertainty,” De La Vega wrote. “The federal government has identified many members of the Tren de Aragua (Aragua Train) based on their tattoos. Although most of the tattoos in the image can be considered common, be very careful if you want to mark yourself with any type of symbol on your body, because that innocent tattoo you got could be the only factor the government uses to identify you as a TDA member.”

His warning quickly gained traction. One X user shared the post, commenting, “The U.S. considers that having any of these tattoos (which are pretty common) makes you part of the so-called ‘Tren de Aragua.’ We’re about to see thousands of innocent people thrown into maximum-security prisons in El Salvador.”

Tattoos have long been used as evidence of gang affiliation, particularly in Central America, where criminal organizations often require members to get inked as a form of branding—whether voluntarily or under coercion.