Venezuelans deported over the weekend to El Salvador by the United States have been denied due process, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, said on Monday.
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Speaking at a press conference, Rodriguez said the people deported were not known to have committed any crimes in the United States or El Salvador, and that Venezuela would do everything it can to have them returned home.
The Trump administration says those deported belong to the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that has been linked to kidnappings, extortion and contract killings.
The Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act’s wartime powers to rapidly deport more than 200 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang from the US over the weekend despite a court order forbidding it to do so.
Rodriguez also said he will ask the government of President Nicolas Maduro to issue a warning for Venezuelans not to travel to the United States, saying it was not a safe place, and he urged Venezuelans who have migrated there to return.
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“We will do everything we have to do so that our compatriots will return home, we will send all the planes we have to send to any part of the world,” he said.