Juan plays a video of his son Carlos riding a bike, which Carlos purchased the day before being taken into custody, at his home in Cedar Park, Texas, on Jan. 29, 2025.
Tamir Kalifa/for NPR
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Tamir Kalifa/for NPR
CEDAR PARK, Texas — For the last few weeks, Juan Terán had been filled with sadness.
His son, 18-year-old Carlos Daniel Terán from Venezuela, had been in immigration detention centers in Texas after being arrested on Jan. 26, and accused by the U.S. government of being part of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang recently designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization.
NPR, which first reported about Carlos’ arrest last month, could not find any criminal records for him in Texas, or anywhere else across the U.S.
On March 15, Juan Terán last spoke to his son. It was via text message.
“Bendición papá, we are being taken out,” the son wrote. “With God’s help, we are leaving today.”
Juan replied, “God bless you, son.”
Since then, Juan Terán has not heard from Carlos.
On Wednesday, Juan Terán received a photo that he believes confirms what he had feared — his son was one of the 261 immigrants sent to a maximum security prison in El Salvador, despite a federal judge ordering the flights carrying the men to turn around.
Carlos Daniel’s case is caught up in a broader brewing battle between executive and judicial authority. Judge James Boasberg has repeatedly pressed the Justice Department for details on those flights to El Salvador over concerns the administration may have defied his orders.
“He looks a lot like my son,” Juan Terán said of the photo. “He has big ears — he looks like my son.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t reply to NPR’s questions about Carlos Daniel’s case and his location.
Juan Terán said his son thought he was going to be deported back to his native Venezuela. Instead, it seems like he ended up at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, or CECOT — a notorious El Salvador prison, which human rights groups have raised concerns about.
He worries about his son’s well-being.
“He’s a child … I know that my son has a weak mind, and I know he feels scared,” Juan Terán said, choking up.
NPR talked to the families of four men believed to be in El Salvador. None of them had a serious criminal record in the U.S. Only one had been charged with illegal entry. Three of the four are believed to have signed their voluntary departure orders, a move that would in theory allow them to come to the U.S. at a later time if approved.
Some of the families have been able to either identify their loved ones through official photos or videos released by El Salvador’s government. But the U.S. government has not provided a list of names, evidence of crimes or affiliation to Tren de Aragua.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about this this week. She said the White House was “not going to reveal operational details about a counterterrorism operation.”
Leavitt said that immigration enforcement agents who investigated the migrants sent to El Salvador “have great evidence and indication, they have the highest degree of professionalism and they were 100% confident in the individuals that were sent home on these flights.”
Lack of transparency leaves people scrambling
But the White House has not provided any details or evidence to sustain their claims.
A source in the State Department says even within the department the administration is not sharing any evidence that supports the claims that these men are members of Tren de Aragua. The source fears the men will never go to trial and could die in prison, given the harsh conditions and El Salvador’s track record. The source requested anonymity fearing retribution and because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
In this photo provided by El Salvador’s presidential press office, a prison guard transfers deportees from the U.S., alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Sunday, March 16, 2025.
El Salvador presidential press office/via AP
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El Salvador presidential press office/via AP
But in an interview on Wednesday with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he has “confidence that El Salvador runs an excellent prison system. That’s why we engaged them on this process.”
In a court filing earlier this week related to a challenge to the flights to El Salvador, Justice Department lawyers provided a sworn declaration from an ICE official who said that many of the people on these flights the administration claimed were members of Tren de Aragua, didn’t have criminal records in the U.S. “The lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose,” the declaration stated.
Mercedes Yamarte said she recognized her 24-year-old son Mervin José Yamarte Fernández in a video from the government of El Salvador.
“My biggest surprise is when I saw the video and I saw my son’s face,” she said in Spanish. “I can’t express all the suffering I saw in my son’s eyes.”
She said her son had been living in Dallas, and was working there. He loved to play soccer, and learn new skills.
Yamarte says her son doesn’t have a criminal record. He signed deportation papers thinking he was going to Venezuela.
“They don’t have to ruin the life of a young man who has never been in prison, has never been a criminal,” Yamarte said. “He’s always worked hard — I taught him that.”
Ivette Borges also believes her cousin was sent to El Salvador.
Neri Jose Alvarado Borges, 25, was living in Lewisville, Texas before he ended up at an immigration detention center in Laredo.
The last time his family heard from him was last Friday. He told his mom he was going to be deported to Venezuela.
Borges says Alvarado’s mother is in shock. Alvarado doesn’t have a criminal record and they are worried about him.
They have not been able to positively identify him since his tattoos are not visible in the photos published by the El Salvador government.
“Today is the first time I have the strength to talk about him,” Borges says. “It’s maddening to not know anything about him.”
For Mirelys Casique Lopez, the thought of seeing his son at the El Salvador prison is too painful.
Francisco Javier García Casique.
Casique Family
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Casique Family
She says Francisco Javier Garcia, 24, was working as a barber in Longview, Texas.
He had signed his deportation order last year but, because Venezuela was not accepting deportees, he was allowed to stay in the country.
But early last month, immigration agents showed up in his neighborhood and he was arrested.
“Trump’s government said they were going after the worst criminals, so we imagined he was going after someone who had killed people in the U.S.,” Casique said, adding that her son doesn’t have a criminal record in the U.S. or Venezuela. She provided NPR with an official document from Venezuela stating García does not have a criminal record.
But the family was somewhat relieved — they really thought Garcia was going to be sent to Venezuela. But a month later, on Saturday, he called his mom to tell her he was about to leave the detention facility in Laredo, Texas.
“I’m going to see the planes, and I know you will be on one of them,” Cacique told her son. “Don’t you worry, my son — God bless you.”
But those airplanes never landed in Venezuela. She later learned flights had landed in El Salvador. Her other kids have identified their brother in social media videos.
“He followed the rules… I feel we were very naive,” she said. “We trusted that the U.S. was going to respect his rights — they don’t respect human rights.”
NPR’s Michele Kelemen contributed to this story.
This story originally appeared on NPR
