16/03/2026
Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan asylum seeker, has filed a claim seeking damages from the US Department of Homeland Security one year after he says he was unlawfully deported to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center.
Hernández Romero and five other Venezuelan men submitted administrative claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act on Friday (13 March), alleging they were transferred from US custody to the prison, known as CECOT, where they were held for 125 days without contact with lawyers or family members.
His attorneys say he fled Venezuela in 2024 to seek asylum after facing anti-LGBTQ+ persecution and entered the US through the government’s CBP One appointment system before being detained by immigration authorities.
US officials later accused Hernández Romero of ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, an allegation his lawyers say was based largely on tattoos reading “mom” and “dad” topped with crowns and not supported by evidence of gang activity.
In March 2025, the administration of Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport more than 250 Venezuelan men to El Salvador’s prison system, including Hernández Romero.
Human rights organisations have warned that conditions at CECOT include severe overcrowding, isolation, and abuse. After 125 days, Hernández Romero and other detainees were released and returned to Venezuela as part of a diplomatic exchange.
Last month, US District Judge James Boasberg ordered the administration to facilitate the return of Venezuelan men sent to CECOT so they could challenge their removals in US court, ruling their due process rights had been violated. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the federal government now has six months to respond to the administrative claims before the men can pursue a lawsuit.
📷 Getty
