Hi there,

It is the job of the press to cover power, not cover for power—to hold those in power accountable by documenting what's happening on the ground and amplifying voices at the grassroots. In this critical moment, as attacks on the media escalate, we must continue to cover crackdowns on dissent, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, public health and academic freedom. Thanks to a group of generous donors, all donations made today will be DOUBLED, which means your $15 gift is worth $30. If our journalism is important to you, please donate today. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Venezuela Refutes U.S. Claims That Deportees from Guantánamo Prison Camp Were Gang Members

HeadlineFeb 21, 2025

The Trump administration said Thursday it had abruptly deported at least 177 Venezuelan immigrants who had been detained in a newly constructed prison camp at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Dozens of the Venezuelan immigrants who were forcefully transferred to Guantánamo were accused, without evidence, of involvement with Tren de Aragua, as Trump claimed to be targeting only “the worst of the worst.” But recent reports showed many of them had never been convicted of violent crimes. Venezuela’s interior minister was at the airport outside Caracas when the U.S. deportation flight arrived Thursday.

Diosdado Cabello: “The United States says that there are people from the Tren de Aragua gang and criminals. We checked the first group that were said to be from Tren de Aragua, and there was no one from there, not one. We are going to check the legal situation of each one of them. Those without a record will go home, and we will take them, and we will take them with care.”

Asylum seekers and immigrants have described torturous conditions while on U.S. deportation flights, including being shackled at the ankles, waist and wrists for hours. This comes as The Guardian reports the corporate conglomerate Akima, charged with running Guantánamo’s immigrant detention camp, has been accused of gross human rights abuses over conditions at three other immigration jails it oversees.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top