NEW YORK — Over the last month, the Trump administration has sent over 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador to be detained in a notorious mega-prison with a track record of human rights abuses.
An official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has acknowledged that "many" of the men lack criminal records in the United States -- but said that "the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose" and "demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile."
The families of some of the men -- who learned about their whereabouts by seeing them in promotional videos shared by the El Salvadoran and United States governments -- have denied any gang affiliation in court filings and shared their stories with ABC News. They said that they fear for the safety of their loved ones and do not know if they will ever return.
Maiker Espinoza Escalona - Deported to El Salvador under Title 8 on March 30
Escalona was detained by U.S. authorities last year when he tried to enter the United States to seek asylum with his partner Yorely Bernal Inciarte and their one-year old baby.
The family was immediately separated, with Escalona sent to a detention center in El Paso, Texas.
On Sunday, Escalona was deported to El Salvador under Title 8, with authorities alleging he was a member of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua -- an accusation his family denies.
"They are liars," said Raida, Inciarte's mother, of the Trump administration. "I cannot believe that half of Venezuela is Tren de Aragua. That can't be."
According to Escalona's sister, he entered the United States to pursue a career as a barber and does not have a criminal record in Venezuela. She suspects he and his wife were detained based on their tattoos.
"He finished high school, he took courses in barbering and set up his barbershop in Venezuela. But things got a bit tough in Venezuela, so he emigrated to have a better life," she said.
Jose Franco Caraballo Tiapa - Deported to El Salvador on March 15
Tiapa, a 26-year-old Venezuelan migrant who was seeking asylum in the U.S., was detained by immigration officials during a routine ICE check-in last month.
His wife Ivannoa Sanchez told ABC News she believes her husband is one of the hundreds of Venezuelan men who earlier this month was sent by plane to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act.
According to Sanchez, the couple crossed the U.S. border in November 2023 and surrendered to authorities. After claiming asylum and being detained for a few days, ICE released them and ordered them to check in routinely with the federal agency.
Sanchez said the couple had gone to several of their scheduled check-ins without experiencing any issues. But on Feb. 3, Tiapa was not allowed to return home with his wife despite being scheduled to have his first court appearance in his asylum case in March.
Sanchez provided ABC News with documents that confirmed Tiapa's scheduled appointment with an immigration judge on March 19. She also provided ABC News with documents that show Tiapa does not have a criminal record in Venezuela.
"He went to his routine ICE appointment and he didn't come out," Sanchez told ABC News.
Sanchez said that after being detained in Dallas, her husband was transferred to a detention center in Laredo, Texas, where she was able to speak with him regularly. In mid-March, she said her husband told her that he believed he was going to be transferred and possibly deported, and she now believes he is detained in El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison.
"He has never done anything, not even a fine, absolutely nothing," Sanchez said of her husband. "We chose this country because it offers more security, more freedom, more peace of mind. But we didn't know it would turn into chaos."
Francisco Garcia Casique - Deported to El Salvador on March 15
Garcia Casique was detained by immigration authorities last month after going to an ICE office for a routine appointment, his brother told ABC News.
Garcia Casique originally entered the United States in December 2023 and surrendered to authorities, according to his brother Sebastian. After appearing before an immigration judge, Garcia Casique was released with an ankle monitor. A review of federal court records found no criminal court cases associated with Garcia Casique.
According to his brother, Garcia Casique was a professional barber who aspired to start a career in the United States.
"[He] was hoping for a better future to help us, help all the family members, and look at the situation now," his brother said.
Earlier this month, Garcia Casique called his family from the detention center in Texas where he was being held to let them know that he believed he was being deported to Venezuela. A few days later, his family recognized his brother in a photo posted on social media by the White House.
"It's a nightmare," his brother told ABC News.
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia - Deported to El Salvador on March 15 due to 'administrative error'
Abrego Garcia -- a Salvadoran national who has two U.S. family members and protected legal status -- was sent to El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison due to an "administrative error," according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official.
Abrego Garcia entered the United States in 2011 when he was 16 to escape gang violence in El Salvador, according to his lawyers. He received a form of protected legal status in 2019, married a U.S. citizen, and has a 5-year-old child.
Earlier this month, he was detained by ICE officials who informed him that his immigration status had changed, sending him to a detention center in Texas before being removing him to El Salvador on Mar. 15.
While the Trump administration has argued that Abrego Garcia is a MS-13 member who is a "danger to the community," his attorneys said that he "is not a member of" and "has no affiliation with Tren de Aragua, MS-13, or any other criminal or street gang," and that the U.S. government "has never produced an iota of evidence to support this unfounded accusation."
Jerce Reyes Barrios - Deported to El Salvador on March 15
Reyes Barrios was a professional soccer player in Venezuela who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border legally in 2024 after being detained and tortured by the Maduro regime, according to his attorney Linette Tobin.
He was immediately detained after authorities accused him of being a member of TdA based on what they said was a gang-affiliated tattoo, and they claimed a photo showed him throwing up gang signs. However, the tattoo in question was an homage to the Real Madrid soccer team logo adorned with a rosary and the word "Dios" meaning God, according to the artist who did the piece.
Barrios did not have a criminal record in Venezuela, according to government records reviewed by ABC News, and he worked as a professional soccer player and children's soccer coach.
"He collaborates with the schools to teach children his techniques. A lot of children admire him because he's a goalie," his family member Ayari del Carmen Pedroza Guerrero said in an interview with ABC News.
Border czar Tom Homan defended Barrios' removal when pressed about the lack of evidence regarding his alleged gang affiliation by ABC's Jonathan Karl.
"We got to count on the men and women who do this every day for a living, who designated these people as a members of TdA, through, like I said, various law enforcement methods," Homan said. "This will be litigated."
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