Bruce Embelgert Cederno Contreras (24) grew up with his parents, sister, his uncle and grandmother in Carabobo, Valencia State, Venezuela. He has always been a polite and sensitive person, someone with values, according to his mother, Mirelys Yelitza Contreras. When he was very young, he had seizures, but those stopped when he was eight years old, and he became a champion swimmer in school. Bruce graduated high school and then went to work as a bricklayer and decorative plaster artisan with his father. Bruce has one seven-year-old son who lives with his grandparents from a high school relationship.
Milelys provided documentation that Bruce had no criminal record in Venezuela. “And by the way, my son doesn’t have any tattoos,” she said.
In January, 2023, because of the economic crash in Venezuela, Bruce and his father were struggling to support their family. So Bruce left to work in the US and send money home for his child and parents. Mirelys said Bruce departed alone but met up with other migrants who traveled together for safety. He arrived in Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican border sister city to El Paso, Texas in February and waited for his CPB-One appointment for immigration to the US on April 9th, 2023. His appointment was uneventful, and he was released into the US.
Bruce traveled to Chicago where a distant cousin helped him get a construction job. The two moved to Florida later, doing home repairs. Mirelys shared documentation of Bruce’s US documents including his work permit. She said he would call her regularly and that he was happy to be able to send much needed support but also exhausted from the physically demanding work and long hours.
In February, 2025, Bruce had an opportunity to visit his an aspiring reggaeton artist, Arturo Suarez, in North Carolina to help make a music video. On February 8, eight young Venezuelan men were at Arturo’s house when ICE raided the home and took all eight men into custody. On February 9th, when she hadn’t heard from him, Mirelys started to worry, then at 10:00pm that evening she got a call from a detention center and learned that Bruce was in ICE custody. Bruce didn’t know why he was arrested, Mirelys said.
Bruce was transferred to a detention center in Georga. Mirelys took up a collection with friends and family so she could send him money for international calls, and he called her every day. On March 5, Bruce had an immigration hearing, and the judge asked him if he would like more time to find a lawyer, and Bruce agreed, so a new hearing was scheduled for April 22nd.
“Someone helped him find a lawyer in the US. The lawyer told us he reviewed Bruce’s case and there was nothing wrong. He was in the process of immigration. The lawyer said he was going to write a letter to the judge. That was in Georga, but then he was moved to Texas on March 5th” Mirelys said.
When she heard from her son next, Mirelys said, he told her that he was in a much bigger detention center and “There are many Venezuelans and they are bringing more Venezuelans,” including the seven other men who had been arrested at the music video event. They told him they were going to deport him, which confused Bruce because the lawyer in Georga had been confident that he would be released.
Then on Friday the 14th at 5:00 am, Bruce called Mirelys to say he was given his clothes and documents and would be deported to Venezuela. However, he called back later to say the flights had been delayed because of a storm.
“On Saturday [March]15th, he called me again at 8 in the morning. And he said, ‘Bless you.’ And I said, ‘God bless you, son.’ I thought it was just to say hello like every morning, but he said, ‘Now it's for real, today we're leaving.’ ---'Well, see you later, son. See you tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll go to pick you up.’ Since that day, I haven't heard anything from my son,” said Mirelys through tears.
“In the early hours of Saturday morning--, I woke up and checked my phone, checked Instagram, and saw that some people had been taken to El Salvador,” Mirelys said. She called the detention center in Texas but was given no information. She called the airport in Venezuela where she expected the planes to land and there were no planes. She called the families of the other men who were arrested at the music video making event, nobody had heard anything except that their sons were being deported to Venezuela. But when the videos of prisoners entering CECOT prison, being treated roughly, Mirelys recognized Bruce as he was getting his hair shaved off. And on March 20th, 2025, when the list of men accused of being members of a criminal gang and sent to El Salvador was published, Bruce's name was on the list.
The last time Mirelys saw her son was on Matt Gaetz’ America One Network show where he toured CECOT prison. The video was published on May 12, 2025. “He’s thin,” she said,” he put his hands up, his eyes were sad. I have to fight for him. He must get out of there. And I won't rest until he is out,” she said.
Reference:
Phone call with Mirelys Yelitza Contreras on May 31, 2025