After the government of President Donald Trump in the United States deported just over 230 Venezuelans to El Salvador for allegedly being members of the criminal gang Tren de Aragua, the version emerged that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained many for having tattoos that identified them as members of this criminal organization. Subsequently, the arrests based on these skin marks were corroborated by lawyers, family members, and even officials. One of the designs is from Real Madrid.
In the media, stories circulate of people who claim to have been detained solely for having tattoos. They deny being part of the Tren de Aragua. In many cases, they don’t even have criminal records, their tattoos were just a signal for the authorities to detain them as members of this criminal organization.
This criminal gang, which originated in the state of Aragua, Venezuela, has a long history of kidnappings, rapes, extortion, murders, and arms trafficking. With the Venezuelan exodus, most of its members also left their country and spread to several countries in the Americas, including the United States.
Tren de Aragua does not have a tattoo policy for its membership, but it is common among its members to have certain designs by which they are identified. While it is true that there are members of this criminal group who have marks on their skin, it is also true that there are people who have tattoos and are not part of it, and that is where the controversy lies, as there are legal arguments stating that someone cannot be arrested and deported solely for having a tattoo.
Real Madrid and other tattoos that are associated with someone from the Tren de Aragua gang
USA Today reported that in November, officials from Texas and Border Patrol agents compiled a list of tattoos in an attempt to identify members of the Tren de Aragua.
Among the images are trains with locomotives or a five-pointed crown, the latter has been used by the Latin Kings gang. The Texas Department of Public Safety also lists roses, predatory felines, and stars on the shoulder for classification, the aforementioned source says.
USA Today reports that some members have tattoos of Michael Jordan or his iconic jersey number 23. This number is also related to the neighborhood 23 de Enero in Caracas.
Lawyers for Venezuelan nationals detained and deported to El Salvador indicated that among their clients there are several types of tattoos, which link them to the Aragua Train gang. Some of these tattoos include roses, crowns, and clocks. There is a man who was arrested for having tattoos of a rose, a clock, and a crown with his son’s name.
Another tattoo that alludes to this band is the animes, flowers, and animals; also the logos of Real Madrid. In the case of the latter, there is Jerce Reyes Barrios, a professional football player with no criminal record, who left Venezuela after allegedly being tortured with electric shocks and asphyxiation. His lawyer Linette Tobin indicated that he has a tattoo on his arm of a crown above a soccer ball, similar to the logo of the Spanish team Real Madrid, with a rosary and the word “God”. This image is being used as evidence of being part of a gang, but he says he got it because of his love for soccer and his favorite team, Real Madrid.
Among the deportees to El Salvador is Anyelo José Sarabia, who has a tattoo on his left hand of a large rose with dollars as petals. Although he claims that the image is not because he is part of any gang, he is still associated with the Tren de Aragua because of it.
Other images include those of Michael Jordan and those alluding to “power” and “strength” , such as phrases: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” or “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.