by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, Alianza Rebelde Investiga and Cazadores de Fake News
We’ve compiled a first-of-its-kind, case-by-case accounting of 238 Venezuelan men who were held in El Salvador. To do so, ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and a team of Venezuelan journalists from Alianza Rebelde Investiga (Rebel Alliance Investigates) and Cazadores de Fake News (Fake News Hunters) spent the past four months reporting on the men’s lives and their backgrounds. We obtained government data that included whether they had been convicted of crimes in the U.S. or had pending charges. We found most were listed solely as having immigration violations. We also conducted interviews with relatives of more than 100 of the men; reviewed thousands of pages of court records from the U.S. and South America; and analyzed federal immigration court data. Read more about our methodology.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson did not respond to questions about the men in the database but said Trump “is committed to keeping his promises to the American people and removing dangerous criminal and terrorist illegals who pose a threat to the American public.” She referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which did not respond.
Search below to learn more about the men.
We are still reporting. Are you or someone you know one among the people who were deported? Do you have information about the deportation operation to share? You can fill out this form or reach our tip line on Signal at 917-512-0201 or WhatsApp at 917-327-4868.
238 people
Legal Justification for Removal
How the Government Labeled Them
Tattoos
Help Us Report
We are still reporting. Are you or someone you know one among the people who were deported? Do you have information about the deportation operation to share? You can fill out this form or reach our tip line on Signal at 917-512-0201 or WhatsApp at 917-327-4868.
Angelo Esmith Escalona Sevilla18 years old
Escalona is the youngest of the 238 Venezuelans sent to El Salvador, having turned 18 in November. He lived in Peru with his family before migrating to the U.S. in 2023 with his mother and younger brother, his aunt said. He eventually settled in North Carolina and worked odd jobs in construction, according to the nonprofit Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. He had obtained a work permit from the federal government, his aunt said. He was detained by immigration authorities in February at a party to make a music video, along with a group of other Venezuelan men. His family said he has no tattoos.
U.S. government data we obtained lists Escalona as having pending criminal charges. We could not find related court or police records, and the Trump administration declined to provide information to support the claim. His aunt told us that she was unaware of Escalona ever being arrested or accused of a crime.
Photo: Facebook
Removed under: Alien Enemies ActA wartime act invoked by the Trump administration to expedite deportations
Ileis Villegas Freites28 years old
Villegas had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. Little public information is available about his life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.
U.S. government data we obtained lists Villegas as having a criminal conviction for larceny. We found records showing that, in September 2024, he was arrested and charged with retail theft in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced to one year of probation.
Removed under: Alien Enemies ActA wartime act invoked by the Trump administration to expedite deportations
José Arregoces Rincón27 years old
Little public information is available about Arregoces’ life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. He has tattoos, according to photos on social media, but it’s unclear what type or whether they played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. Please reach out if you have information to share.
U.S. government data we obtained lists Arregoces as having pending criminal charges. We could not find related court or police records, and the Trump administration declined to provide information to support the claim.
Removed under: Removal orderA formal deportation decision by a judge or immigration officials
Diego Andrés Lemus Cagua22 years old
Lemus lived in the Chicago area and worked as a carpenter for about a year before he was detained and sent to El Salvador, his cousin told us. He has a wife and a stepdaughter. Before migrating to the U.S., he worked at his father’s beachside restaurant in Venezuela until his family closed it due to lack of tourism. Photos posted online show that he has a tattoo of a name on his arm. It’s unclear if it played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.
U.S. government data we obtained lists Lemus as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that, in November, he and a woman were arrested for attempting to steal clothing at a mall in Katy, Texas. He was charged in Fort Bend County, Texas, with property theft valued between $100 and $750, a misdemeanor. It’s not clear if the case has been resolved.
Photo: TikTok
Removed under: Removal orderA formal deportation decision by a judge or immigration officials
Nicola Vázquez Morillo34 years old
Little public information is available about Vázquez’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.
He is not included in the U.S. government data we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.
Removed under: Removal orderA formal deportation decision by a judge or immigration officials
Yordano Albeiro Contreras González35 years old
His sister, Gleidy Contreras, told us he worked with her in Venezuela sorting and selling scrap before he moved to Colombia in 2017 with his partner and their daughter. In 2023, he migrated to the U.S. and turned himself in to Border Patrol agents. He settled in Dallas, where he worked in the seafood department of a grocery store, according to Contreras. He had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned in El Salvador, according to our analysis of immigration court data. It’s unclear if Contreras González’s tattoos, which include a music note behind an ear, an angel on his abdomen and the name of a godson on his hand, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.
He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained. In January 2025, authorities in Chile, where he also has lived, requested his extradition for drug trafficking and kidnapping, according to Chilean court records. Chilean authorities had accused him of holding his ex-partner hostage and sexually abusing her. He was also accused of selling drugs. Chilean documents we obtained show authorities later started to investigate him as a suspected member of Tren de Aragua, without providing details. Contreras said her brother disputed the charges and any association with the Venezuelan gang. “I’m not going to say my brother was a saint,” Contreras said, but she doesn’t believe he deserved to be sent to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
Photo: Courtesy of family
Removed under: Alien Enemies ActA wartime act invoked by the Trump administration to expedite deportations
Omar Soto Manzana20 years old
Little public information is available about Soto’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.
U.S. government data we obtained lists Soto as having pending criminal charges. We could not find related court or police records, and the Trump administration declined to provide information to support the claim.
Removed under: Removal orderA formal deportation decision by a judge or immigration officials
Henry Javier Vargas Lugo32 years old
Vargas crossed the border through El Paso, Texas, with his daughter and the girl’s mother, according to the Miami Herald. He was living in Aurora, Colorado, working in food delivery and shoveling snow for nearly a year when immigration officers detained him. His sister told the newspaper that border officers asked him to remove his shirt to document his tattoos and questioned him about being affiliated with Tren de Aragua. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include a pair of crowns, a rosary and a clock, played a role in the government labeling him a member of Tren de Aragua.
U.S. government data we obtained lists Vargas as having pending criminal charges. The Drug Enforcement Administration released a photo identifying him as a member of Tren de Aragua, but the agency hasn’t disclosed any evidence to support that claim. The DEA post said he was arrested on attempted kidnapping and extortion charges in January. His family told the Herald he’d been a victim of a scam. We found an Adams County, Colorado, court record from February that said prosecutors “will not be filing charges.” A spokesperson for the Adams County District Attorney’s Office said that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to support a kidnapping charge and that a surveillance video contradicted the initial report. It was unclear if there was a separate extortion charge and, if so, how it was resolved.
Photo: Miami Herald
Removed under: Removal orderA formal deportation decision by a judge or immigration officials
Franco José Caraballo Tiapa26 years old
A barber by trade, Caraballo migrated to the U.S. in 2023 with his wife, she told us. They left their young daughter in the care of relatives in Venezuela, according to Yaracuy Al Día, a Venezuelan news outlet. The couple settled in Texas, where Caraballo worked in construction during the week and as a barber on the weekends. He had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. It’s unclear if Caraballo’s tattoos, which include roses, a shaving razor, a lion and a clock with the time his daughter was born, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.
He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.
Photo: Courtesy of family
Removed under: Alien Enemies ActA wartime act invoked by the Trump administration to expedite deportations
Pedro Luis Salazar Cuervo27 years old
Salazar worked with his family growing yucas and bananas. He also sold crafts in his town. He is the father of three boys, his sister, Xiomara Salazar, said in an interview. He left Venezuela in 2024 to help pay for his mother’s cervical surgery but was detained as soon as he crossed the border into Texas on Dec. 31, 2024.
U.S. government data we obtained lists Salazar as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that he was arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety for trespassing in December 2024. State officials accused him of belonging to Tren de Aragua, with Gov. Greg Abbott saying in a news release that he and others arrested were “vicious” gang members, though he didn’t provide any evidence. Xiomara Salazar denied her brother has any ties to the Venezuelan gang. She also said he doesn’t have any tattoos, which is corroborated by the inmate booking sheet. The trespassing case was dismissed in July.
Photo: Últimas Noticias
Removed under: Alien Enemies ActA wartime act invoked by the Trump administration to expedite deportations or removal orderA formal deportation decision by a judge or immigration officials