Deported Venezuelan accuses U.S. government of abuse
Neiyerver Adrian Leon Rengel claims he was wrongly labeled a gang member and subjected to beatings while imprisoned in El Salvador
A Venezuelan national deported from the United States has filed a formal complaint against the administration of former President Donald Trump, alleging wrongful deportation and abuse. Neiyerver Adrian Leon Rengel, a 27-year-old barber, claims he was falsely identified as a gang member and sent to El Salvador, where he endured beatings and psychological abuse at the notorious Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) — a maximum-security prison known for human rights violations.
Filed on Thursday under the Federal Tort Claims Act, Rengel's complaint marks the first legal action from one of over 250 Venezuelan men deported to El Salvador in March. He is seeking $1.3 million in damages with support from the Democracy Defenders Fund.
Rengel accuses the Trump administration of using gang allegations as a pretext to bypass due process and expedite deportation. Despite having entered the U.S. legally in June 2023 via the CBP One app and awaiting an immigration hearing scheduled for 2028, Rengel was arrested outside his apartment in Irving, Texas, on March 13. Immigration agents allegedly used his tattoos as evidence of affiliation with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The complaint details how Rengel was sent to El Salvador instead of Venezuela and detained in CECOT, where he faced physical assaults, including beatings in areas without surveillance cameras. His lawyers state he was "terrified" throughout his detention in a country with which he had no ties.
The deportation was part of a broader Trump initiative under the rarely invoked Alien Enemies Act of 1798, used to justify mass expulsions of alleged gang members. Critics argue this constituted an unconstitutional abuse of executive power, especially since the law had only been used three times in U.S. history—exclusively during wartime.
The Trump administration reportedly paid nearly $6 million to El Salvador to detain the deportees. In a subsequent prisoner exchange earlier this month, Rengel and other Venezuelan detainees were repatriated in return for the release of 10 American citizens and several alleged political prisoners held in Venezuela.
The Department of Homeland Security has dismissed Rengel’s claims, reiterating that he is a gang member. “We hear far too much about gang members’ false sob stories and not enough about their victims,” a DHS spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has challenged the legal basis of the mass deportations, ruling in June that the deported Venezuelans must be allowed to contest their removals in U.S. courts. He noted “significant evidence” suggesting the deportees were imprisoned abroad based on “flimsy, even frivolous” accusations.
If the government fails to respond to Rengel’s complaint within six months, he may proceed with a federal lawsuit.
