The relatives of several of the men deported by the Trump administration to an El Salvador jail on Saturday claim not all of them are gang members. CBS News has revealed that a Venezuelan barber was on the list for deportation flights despite having no criminal record.
Franco José Caraballo Tiapa, 26, is from Venezuela and came to the United States in 2023 to seek refuge from persecution in his own country.
In February, after a regular check-in with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Texas, he was abruptly arrested, and his wife, Johanny Sánchez, claims she lost communication with him on Saturday. CBS News got an internal government list of the Venezuelan males deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador, and Caraballo’s name appears on it.
According to a document from the Department of Homeland Security, Caraballo is suspected of being a member of the criminal group Tren de Aragua, although he has no criminal history in the United States. Venezuelan authorities confirmed that he had no record there.
“He was not given due process,” attorney Martin Rosenow said. “He was not able to defend this allegation.”
The DHS document includes Caraballo’s tattoos but does not clearly state that they are related to gang participation.
The Trump administration claims that the Venezuelans deported to El Salvador’s CECOT jail over the weekend were all gang members. In a sworn statement Monday night, an ICE officer claimed the agency “carefully vetted each” migrant deported to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act “to ensure they were in fact members of TdA (Tren de Aragua).” The official states that “many” do not have criminal history, but others do.
Sánchez has been reviewing photographs of recent deportees in an attempt to find her spouse.
When asked what troubles her about his being in this jail, Sánchez said that he is innocent.
CBS News went inside CECOT last month, which is known for being an information dead zone. There is no mobile phone coverage, no visits, and the detainees are sentenced to life in prison despite the fact that many have not yet been convicted.
I’m worried that we don’t have access,” Rosenow added. “Who has custody of our client?” Who has jurisdiction? What about El Salvador? ICE? What about the United States government? “We have no idea.”
Sánchez’s sole hope is that both El Salvador and the United States extend compassion in the sake of justice.
“They can’t judge us all as criminals just because we’re Venezuelans,” Sánchez stated in Spanish.
When questioned about Caraballo’s case, the DHS said it is confident in its intelligence and is obeying the law, but would not comment.
Caraballo’s counsel believes that US courts have lost jurisdiction. Salvadoran authorities said that they would not provide any further information regarding the deportees.