Víctor Andrés Ortega Burbano, is a 24-year-old Venezuelan man with a disability: muscle atrophy in his right arm. Maryeli Carrillo, his sister, said that Victor has no criminal record and is the father of a 5-year-old daughter.
According to journalist Madeleine García, Victor was working as a bricklayer and doing home repairs in the US. “He worked painting houses, in a stadium, in a fast-food restaurant; he is not a dangerous terrorist.”
Victor had Temporary Protected Status (TPS) allowing him to be in the US legally. He also had work authorization and a social security number. Victor showed the journalist his proof of no criminal record in Venezuela.
On March 11, 2025, while checking his mailbox, Victor was surrounded by ICE agents and arrested. After being transferred to several detention centers, including the Alvarado Detention Center and the Valley Detention Facility, he was then sent to Guantanamo.
On March 31, it was learned that he had been transferred to CECOT, the notorious prison in El Salvador. Reporting indicates that conditions inside CECOT are inhumane; prisoners are only allowed to leave their cells for 30 minutes a day, to exercise in the central area. They never see sunlight, but the lights inside are never turned off – except for the pitch-black solitary confinement cells. No visitors are allowed.
“Cecot is not meant for rehabilitation,” said Noah Bullock, executive director of Cristosal, a human rights organization. “It is meant for permanent exile, permanent punishment."
Victor was accused, without evidence or due process, of being a member of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. A US Government website alleges that Victor has “pending charges for discharge of a firearm and theft,” but there is no mention of a criminal conviction, and I was unable to find an arrest record online.
Victor’s brother, Daniel Eduardo Carrillo Burbano, states on a Tik Tok video that Victor was “targeted simply because he is Venezuelan and has a tattoo like the one I have here [showing his calf], a clock with his family below it. That is why they are linking him to this dangerous gang.”
“My mother is devastated, suffering. All of us, his brothers, his family, are suffering helplessly because my brother is not a criminal. Just like him, we are merchants, and we work here in Valencia, in the state of Carabobo.”
The-disappeared.com
References:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DH6_Q_6Asfr/?hl=en
https://en.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/politica/venezolano-con-discapacidad-entre-los-17-nuevos-secuestrados-en-el-salvador/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DH6CLszxkCB/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=8993ecd9-537a-4793-9b59-896116488e56
https://www.instagram.com/p/DH6NNvaMvgY/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DH7BYtrycLr/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DH5-H0gIgp7/?img_index=8
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-deports-more-alleged-gang-members-el-salvador-2025-03-31/#:~:text=GANG%20DETERMINATIONS&text=But%20under%20the%20rubric%2C%20tattoos,member%2C%20and%20three%20facing%20charges.&text=Ted%20Hesson%20is%20an%20immigration,bachelor's%20degree%20from%20Boston%20College.
https://www.elsalvadornow.org/2025/04/02/venezuelan-with-a-disability-among-the-17-newly-abducted-in-el-salvador-venezolano-con-discapacidad-entre-los-17-nuevos-secuestrados-en-el-salvador/
https://www.tiktok.com/@veronikaolivaress/video/7488506633635548421
https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/04/no-safe-harbor-for-illegal-immigrant-criminals-under-president-trump/ https://www.tiktok.com/@danielecarrillobgmail.co/video/7488409014368226565?q=V%C3%ADctor%20Andr%C3%A9s%20Ortega%20&t=1750162090282
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/30/el-salvador-cecot-mega-prison-trump