Jerce Reyes Barrios, 36, was deported to El Salvador after US officials wrongly believed he was a member of the violent Tren de Aragua gang due to a tattoo on his arm
A Venezuelan footballer was deported to El Salvador’s ‘hell-hole’ prison after his tattoo was misunderstood as gang related.
Jerce Reyes Barrios, 36, was in the U.S. awaiting a decision on his asylum application when he was taken by agents who believed he was a member of Tren de Aragua last September. Tren de Aragua is a transnational narcoterrorist and criminal group from Venezuela classified as a foreign terror group by Trump.
The authorities cited one of his tattoos as the reason for his arrest, alleging it indicated gang membership. The tattoo features a football with a crown, rosary, and the word “Dios,” which translates to God in Spanish.
The tattoo features a football with a crown, rosary, and the word “Dios,” which translates to God in Spanish. According to Barrios’ lawyer, Linette Tobin, his tattoo artist confirmed that the design was influenced by the logo of his favourite football team, Real Madrid, not gangs.
A representative for the Department of Homeland Security informed the New York Post that Barrios’ detention was based on more than just a single tattoo, with DHS agents also referring to a social media post they discovered where he was seen making a gesture using his thumb, index finger, and pinkie.
Tobin clarified that this gesture is commonly used to signify “I love you” in sign language or “rock n’ roll.”
Despite authorities being “confident” in pegging Barrios as a gang member, evidence including a lack of a criminal record, supportive employment letters, and testimony from the tattooist led to his shift from maximum security.
Unexpectedly, Barrios was later shuffled off from San Diego to a facility in Texas without prior notice, Tobin reports.
On March 15, Barrios got caught up in mass deportations under the Donald Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, sending over 200 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador. As part of this strategy, a questionable agreement with President Nayib Bukele of the Central American country was made to contain these individuals in the notoriously harsh CECOT prison there.
However, since his deportation, Barrios’ attorney and family have lost all contact and remain in the dark about his well-being. It’s now shrouded in mystery whether the asylum hearing set for April 17 in San Diego will proceed.
“He has never been arrested or charged with a crime,” attests Tobin in a recent affidavit.
Last week, a Facebook update from Barrios’ uncle disclosed that the family only learned of his surreptitious transport to El Salvador after catching sight of him in viral videos boasted by the Trump administration, which crowed about the ostensible mass extradition of violent members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Jair Barrios, a former professional soccer player and coach, had fled Venezuela with his family in 2024 after facing persecution for speaking out against President Nicolás Maduro’s regime. He was detained and allegedly tortured in a clandestine building before making a legal entry into the US through the CBP One app in September 2024.
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