Trump Admin Facilitates Controversial Prisoner Swap

A 34-year-old Venezuelan man, Arturo Suarez, was sent by the Trump administration to a maximum security prison in El Salvador despite having no criminal record. He was one of over 250 Venezuelan men detained and claimed he was subjected to physical, verbal, and psychological abuse, including beatings and humiliation. Suarez, an aspiring singer, had moved to the US to escape Venezuela's authoritarian regime but was arrested by immigration agents and accused of being a gang member. He was later released as part of a prisoner swap and reunited with his family in Venezuela, but is scarred by his experience and wants to clear his name. The Trump administration paid El Salvador millions to detain the Venezuelan men, claiming they were part of a notorious gang, but Suarez denies any gang affiliation and believes he was targeted for being Venezuelan.

Dahud Hanid Ortiz, a 54-year-old U.S. Army veteran, was released from a Venezuelan prison as part of a prisoner swap negotiated by the Trump administration and is now free in the United States. Hanid Ortiz had been sentenced to 30 years in prison in Venezuela for killing three people in Spain in 2016, and was awarded a Purple Heart for his service in Iraq. Despite his conviction being documented in public records, the Trump administration facilitated his release, which has sparked anger among relatives of his victims. Hanid Ortiz was among 10 Americans and U.S. legal permanent residents released from Venezuelan detention in exchange for 252 Venezuelan men being expelled from a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.

The Trump administration freed Dahud Hanid Ortíz, a dual U.S.-Venezuelan citizen, as part of a prisoner exchange with Venezuela, despite his 30-year prison term for a triple murder in 2016. Hanid Ortíz, 54, was convicted in a Venezuelan court with evidence supplied by Spanish and German officials. The release has caused outrage in both Spain and Germany, and concerns among the victims' families, who fear for their well-being as Hanid Ortíz is believed to be at large in the country, though his exact location is not known. Hanid Ortíz had been a U.S. citizen since serving in the U.S. Army for over 17 years. The State Department and White House have declined to disclose information about his whereabouts or the circumstances of his inclusion in the deal, fueling further concern and speculation.