Forbes Magazine reported: “Andry Hernandez Romero, a gay, Venezuelan makeup artist deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration last month, cried for his mother as prison guards manhandled him and shaved his head, according to a photojournalist who witnessed the intake process—as Andry is reportedly among dozens of men taken to the notorious Salvadoran prison who have no criminal records.”
A photographer who captured the scene of Romero praying and crying as his head was being shaved told reporters he heard Romero shout “I’m innocent” and “I’m gay” as guards slapped him: “He started praying and calling out, literally crying for his mother,” the photographer said.
The 31-year-old Romero was seeking asylum in the U.S. for “persecution in Venezuela for being gay and his opposition to the Venezuelan government when he was deported to El Salvador with 237 other Venezuelan migrants on March 15 flights a judge ordered to turn around” according to Forbes.
The Trump administration has claimed all of the men are members of a Venezuelan gang, but lawyers and family members for multiple men reject the assessments, while CBS News found no criminal records for 75% of the men. The Queer God Squad responds to this outrage.
