Under the Trump administration, tattoos have become a means to identify gang members, and a North Carolina singer has mistakenly fallen victim. The singer, Arturo Suarez, met a cruel reality of accusations of being gang-affiliated and is now deported to El Salvador.
Suarez, a Venezuela native, was arrested after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers raided a house in North Carolina where he was recording music. Although the immigrant had come to the US legally, he was awaiting approval of his asylum claim before his detention. Unfortunately, they labeled the singer a member of a transnational criminal organization, the Tren de Aragua gang, and deported him.
However, the victim’s brother, Nelson Suarez, has dismissed claims of his brother’s involvement with any syndicate. Nelson revealed documents showing that the singer had no criminal records in Venezuela, Chile, Colombia, and the United States, where he previously lived.
According to the relative, the singer was arrested because he was Venezuelan and had tattoos. The 34-year-old inmate had 33 body inks altogether featuring Bible verses, poems, a piano, and a hummingbird. Nelson identified his brother through his tattoo in a photograph of shaved inmates shackled together.
“You can see the hummingbird tattoo on his neck,” Nelson said to Sky News. The distraught sibling added that Suarez got the ink in memory of their late mother. The news has since sparked anger amongst internet users who openly condemned the government.
A netizen wrote, “They skipped due process entirely. It’s authoritarian s**t. If they don’t have due process none of us do.”
Another user penned, “His skin isn’t politically correct enough for the current White House.” A third fan agreed, sharing, “His ‘crime’ was being Hispanic when the bigots got to be in charge. Another disgraceful era in American history.”
A fourth commenter lashed, “For people who balk at the idea of being compared to Nazis, they sure as hell make the comparison easy at times.” A fifth observer replied, “Yeah, they’re literally stacking victims three layers wide in a cell like they did in Auschwitz.”
Arturo’s arrest comes two weeks after Venezuelan athlete Jerce Reyes Barrios was also deported to El Salvador because of his tattoos. As we reported, Barrios was marked as a gang member because of drawings of a soccer ball, a crown, and a rosary on his body.
A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security explained that the coach was ruled as a threat based on a post on social media. The post showed the soccer player holding up his thumb, index, and pinkie fingers, which the officers ruled as a gang sign.
Barrios’ lawyer argued that the player had no criminal records and the symbol only showed his love for his favorite team. However, the coach was deported to El Salvador.
