Leonardo Gabriel García Prado, 24, and his girlfriend, Geisber Sudero, 22 were living in New York City and were arrested by ICE on February 15, 2025. She was released when she showed her Temporary Protected Status but Leonardo was not so lucky.
Leonardo was kept in detention because of his tattoos of a rose and a clock, Geisber explained. ICE claimed that these tattoos linked Leonardo to the criminal gang, Tren de Aragua, but Geisber explained that their tattoos are matching and represent their love.
Geisber thought Leonardo was still in an ICE detention center in Pennsylvania , but in mid-March she learned from a video that the Venezuelan national had been removed from the United States and sent by the same federal agency to the "mega-prison" CECOT in El Salvador.
She recognized him in the video of roughly treated prisoners by his gait. This broke her heart, because this young couple had been separated since February 15th after being detained by ICE.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to prove that he's not a criminal , that he has no ties to the Tren de Aragua ," said Geisber.
From Venezuela, Sandra Prado, Leonardo's mother, is battling two battles: against cancer and proving her son's innocence.
The woman is undergoing treatment for breast cancer and is also working to collect criminal records to prove her son's innocence.
Meanwhile, Leonardo’s name appeared on the leaked list of men sent to CECOT. They have had no other word from him in over a month and don’t even know if he is alive and well. CECOT is known for its inhumane treatment of prisoners including torture.
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