A Venezuelan football coach, Jerce Reyes Barrios, has returned home to a hero’s welcome after spending over four months in El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison.
Reyes, 33, was deported from the United States in March along with over 200 other Venezuelans. U.S. authorities claimed they were members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang, but Reyes says he was wrongly profiled because of a tattoo.
“I got the tattoo because I love Real Madrid. For me, football is the king of sports,” he said. The tattoo shows a crown, a football, and a rosary, with the word “Dios.”
Reyes entered the U.S. legally in September 2025 through the CBP One app. His lawyer, Linette Tobin, submitted court documents showing he had no criminal record and that the tattoo had nothing to do with any gang. She also provided a statement from the tattoo artist.
Still, Reyes said he was taken to a detention center in Texas and then deported without being told where he was going. “We thought we were going back to Venezuela,” he said. “But the plane landed in El Salvador. We were tricked.”
On arrival at El Salvador’s CECOT prison, Reyes said guards beat them, shaved their heads, stripped them, and threatened them. “They told us, ‘Welcome to hell. You will die here.’”
Inside the prison, he said the lights were kept on 24 hours, there was little food, and inmates often collapsed from hunger or heat. “We saw people fainting. We heard people screaming. We saw blood and vomit.”
He also said the prison forced them to fake good conditions when human rights groups visited. “They gave us clean clothes and let us shower so the Red Cross wouldn’t see the truth. Then they locked us back up.”
A U.S. Homeland Security spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said they had intelligence on the deportees but would not share details. “We’re not going to release security reports every time someone denies being a gang member,” she said.
Reyes said he had never heard of Tren de Aragua until he was accused of being part of it. “I’m not a criminal. I’ve never seen this gang where I’m from.”
He was released on July 18 after a prisoner exchange between Venezuela and the U.S. Venezuela received 250 deportees, while the U.S. got 10 Americans held in Venezuelan prisons.
When Reyes returned to his hometown of Machiques de Perijá, children in football kits ran to hug him. “I thought I was dreaming,” he said. “But it was real. I was home.”
Now, he spends time with his daughters and is back on the pitch. “I just want to live a normal life,” he said. “Football is my peace.”
