In a bittersweet turn of events, Andry Hernández Romero — a gay Venezuelan makeup artist and asylum seeker — has been released from a notorious prison in El Salvador, but sent back to Venezuela instead of being granted safety in the U.S. Hernández Romero entered the U.S. legally in 2024, fleeing anti-LGBTQ+ persecution and political violence.
Though he passed his credible fear interview, he was deported after attending a government appointment. The Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 — the same law once used to incarcerate Japanese Americans — to send him and over 250 other Venezuelan men to El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison.
There, they were held without due process, accused of gang ties based on tattoos. His lawyers say Hernández Romero has no criminal record. CECOT is widely known as a site of torture and brutal anti-LGBTQ abuse. Photojournalist Philip Holsinger recalled witnessing Hernández Romero cry, plead, and shout, “I’m innocent. I’m gay,” as guards shaved his head and slapped him for speaking.
Following months of advocacy and mounting pressure, Hernández Romero has now been released as part of a prisoner swap that returned 10 U.S. citizens from Venezuela and sent the detained Venezuelans in El Salvador back to their homeland. Representative Robert Garcia, a gay U.S. Congressman, has been tracking the case and said on social media, “We are grateful he is alive.”
Still, concerns loom over the failure to honor Hernández Romero’s asylum claim. Andry Hernández Romero remains a lead plaintiff in a court case challenging the use of the Alien Enemies Act. Considering the challenging life queer people have to lead in Venezuela, all we can say is, He’s out of the frying pan — and into the fire.
