Rio de Janeiro:
Brazil's government has expressed outrage and said it will demand an explanation from President Donald Trump's administration after dozens of migrants deported from the United States arrived in handcuffs. Brazil's Foreign Ministry said the treatment meted out to migrants during the Battle Homeland was a “gross disregard” of human rights.
The controversy comes as Latin America grapples with President Donald Trump's hard-line anti-immigrant agenda. Since returning to power a week ago, Trump has implemented a crackdown plan on irregular immigration and mass deportations, with several planes flown with illegal immigrants to countries as diverse as Guatemala and Brazil. I'm here.
When one such plane landed in the northern Brazilian city of Manaus, authorities reportedly found the 88 Brazilians on board the plane in handcuffs. They ordered U.S. officials to “immediately remove the handcuffs,” Brazil's Justice Department said in a statement.
Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva “is indifferent to the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens,” the statement said.
Brazils handcuffs Decectortees. Trump management doesn't work
Brazil called the use of handcuffs on Denner “blatant disrespect” and requested their removal in-flight during an unexpected landing in Manaus.
The Trump administration is currently ramping up large-scale deportations, but… https://t.co/c1ddueqcib pic.twitter.com/n0jkcp7yhk
– Mario Nawfal (@marionawfal) January 26, 2025
Brazil will demand “an explanation from the US government for the degrading treatment of passengers” on Friday night's flight, the Foreign Ministry said on X.
american nightmare
Among the Brazilians on the flight was Edgar da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer engineer. He was detained in the United States for seven months before being deported.
“On the plane, they didn't give us water, we had our hands and feet tied, they didn't let us go to the toilet,” he told news agency AFP. Ta.
“It was so hot, some people passed out,” Moura said.
Also on the flight, 21-year-old Luis Antonio Rodriguez Santos recounted the “nightmare” of a man with “respiratory problems” during four hours “without air conditioning” due to technical problems with the plane. I did.
“Things are already changing (with Trump), immigrants are being treated as criminals,” he said.
The flight was originally destined for the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, but encountered technical problems that forced it to land in Manaus.
Flights are not part of Trump's plan
Government sources told AFP that the deportation flights are not directly related to the immigration order Trump issued upon taking office, but rather stem from a 2017 bilateral agreement.
Macae Evaristo, Brazil's human rights minister, told journalists that “an autistic child… who went through a very serious experience” was also on the flight.
Brazilian television footage showed some passengers disembarking from the commercial plane, handcuffed and their ankles shackled.
“Upon learning of the situation, President Lula ordered the mobilization of Brazilian Air Force (FAB) aircraft to transport the Brazilians to their final destination.
A Brazilian government source told AFP that the deportees who arrived in Manaus traveled “with documentation.”
Trump's immigration crackdown
Trump promised to crack down on illegal immigration during the campaign and began his second term with a flurry of enforcement actions aimed at overhauling the United States. On his first day in office, he signed an order declaring a “national emergency” at the US southern border and deploying more troops to the region while vowing to deport “criminals.” We announced that.
Several deportation flights since Monday have received public and media attention, but such actions were also common under previous U.S. presidents.
However, in a break in prior practice, the Trump administration began using military aircraft for repatriation flights. We made at least one landing in Guatemala this week. The United States also expelled 265 migrants to Guatemala on Friday.
According to Department of Homeland Security statistics, there are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.
