Deported by Mistake to El Salvador, He Ended Up in a Maximum-Security Prison: A Case That Exposes Abuses in Trump’s Immigration Policy
By Nicolapps — Human Rights Correspondent | May 11, 2025
DETROIT, U.S.A.– What began as a simple wrong turn became an international human rights nightmare. Ricardo Jesús Prada Vásquez, a 32-year-old Venezuelan citizen, was arrested in January by ICE agents after mistakenly taking a route toward the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit while delivering UberEats orders. Despite having entered the U.S. legally through the CBP One app, Trump’s renewed administration deported him under circumstances now sparking allegations of human rights violations, enforced disappearance, and arbitrary detention.
Deported Without Explanation or Legal Defense
Ricardo had arrived in the U.S. in November 2024 via the legally authorized CBP One process—a digital system designed to manage humanitarian entry applications. Upon arrival, he began working as a food delivery driver in Detroit while waiting for the renewal of his immigration status. He had legal permission to remain in the country during this period.
On January 15, while completing a delivery, a GPS error led him toward the international bridge. ICE agents detained him, accusing him of illegal reentry—a charge that, according to activists and legal experts, had no factual basis. Most disturbingly, he was never granted access to legal representation or a fair hearing. He was shuffled between various detention centers and ultimately deported on March 15.
From Deportee to “Disappeared”
For weeks, Ricardo’s friends and family had no idea where he was. His name did not appear on official deportation records. Human rights organizations raised alarms about a possible enforced disappearance, while Trump officials remained silent.
The trail resurfaced when activists discovered Ricardo had been transferred to El Salvador’s Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT)—one of the most notorious maximum-security prisons in the region, built to detain alleged gang members.
With no criminal record and no judicial process in the U.S., Ricardo was directly transferred to a foreign prison system known for systemic human rights abuses, with no formal extradition process or diplomatic oversight.
Arbitrary Links to a Criminal Group
According to sources close to the case, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arbitrarily linked Ricardo to the Tren de Aragua criminal gang, a violent group operating across Latin America. No public evidence has been presented to support this claim, and legal advocates argue this reflects a pattern by the Trump administration of justifying mass deportations without due process.
“Ricardo Prada’s case is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Gris Vogt, an advocate for deported migrants. “What we’re witnessing is a deliberate policy of secrecy, baseless criminalization, and systematic denial of the right to legal defense.”
A State-Sanctioned Crime?
The case has quickly drawn international attention. The Venezuelan government formally requested an investigation into enforced disappearance, while organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International demand answers from U.S. authorities over a growing trend of covert deportations to foreign prisons.
“CECOT is not a migrant holding facility—it’s a punishment center. Sending a civilian there without trial amounts to a modern form of institutionalized torture,” Vogt declared.
CECOT, built to hold up to 40,000 inmates, has been repeatedly denounced for extreme overcrowding, prolonged isolation, and degrading treatment. Each prisoner is allotted just 0.6 square meters—less space than what is legally required for livestock in some countries.
The New Face of U.S. Immigration Policy
Since returning to power, President Donald Trump has hardened his anti-immigrant stance. Under his renewed administration, the CBP One app has been dismantled, and a system of expedited deportations has been implemented—with no judicial review or basic legal safeguards.
Ricardo Prada’s case not only exposes the flaws of a dehumanizing immigration policy but also raises serious legal and moral questions about the Trump administration’s handling of deportations.
While Ricardo remains imprisoned in inhumane conditions, his 4-year-old son waits for him in Detroit with no answers. Meanwhile, thousands of legal migrants now live in fear that one wrong turn could cost them everything.
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