Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan asylum seeker, has been released from an El Salvador prison after four months of detention and is back in Venezuela. LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights advocates express mixed emotions of relief and anger regarding his return. During his incarceration, he was isolated without contact for 125 days. Advocates highlight the danger he faces upon returning to Venezuela, as he initially fled to escape persecution due to his sexual orientation. Many others from the same prison have also reportedly been freed following advocacy efforts.
"We have confirmed that he is in Venezuela," Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, told The Advocate Friday evening.
"We have been fighting to free Andry, our other clients, and all the men from CECOT for more than four months," Toczylowski said in a statement Friday.
Despite seeking protection from anti-LGBTQ+ violence in Venezuela, Hernández Romero was deported to El Salvador, where he had no ties, without a hearing.
I am incredibly relieved that it appears most of them have been freed from the torture prison the U.S. government sent them to, and potentially may be reunited with family soon.
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