“Guards Sexually Abused Me,” Makeup Artist Andry Romero Finally Free From Trumpian Hell
After 125 harrowing days, gay Venezuelan makeup artist Andry Hernández Romero is free. He was released from the concrete walls of El Salvador’s notorious Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT), a maximum-security prison described by many as a modern-day gulag.
Now back home in Venezuela, he alleges a horrifying ordeal of torture, sexual abuse, and starvation while detained under a controversial United States deportation order.
Why was he even there?
Hernández Romero’s case is confounding. He initially fled Venezuela in late 2024, fearing persecution for his sexual orientation and political opinions, and sought asylum in the US. He entered legally, was given an appointment by the government, and even passed his initial credible fear interview.
So why was he sent to a torture facility? His crime, according to U.S. federal agents, was having tattoos of crowns that read “mom” and “dad”. They cited this as supposed proof of gang affiliation, a claim his lawyers have consistently and strongly denied. He has no criminal record. He was one of over 250 Venezuelan men deported without a hearing under the Trump administration’s use of the archaic Alien Enemies Act.
“We believed we would never see our families again”…
Speaking from his family home, Hernández Romero, 32, described the conditions inside CECOT. “It was an encounter with torture and death,” he told journalists, detailing how he and other detainees were beaten and shot with rubber projectiles in dark cells.
“Many of our fellows have wounds from the nightsticks, they have fractured ribs, fractured fingers and toes, marks from the handcuffs,” he said.
In a separate televised interview, his allegations became even more specific and disturbing. “In my particular case, I was sexually abused by the same Salvadoran authorities who guarded us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” he stated.
Out of the prison, but not out of danger.
While Hernández Romero is no longer in CECOT, his safety is far from guaranteed. He has been returned to Venezuela, the very country he fled in fear for his life. His legal team is deeply concerned. “While we’re happy that he’s no longer in the torture prison, we are worried for his future,” said Melissa Shepherd, an attorney with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has dismissed the abuse claims, labelling the men “criminal, illegal gang members”. Lindsay Toczylowski, a cofounder of the legal centre, noted the grim reality of the situation, stating these men were sent “with no due process to be tortured, only to then be used as political pawns”.
For now, Hernández Romero is processing the support he received from across the globe during his detention. “It fills me with so much peace,” he said. “There were many people who worried for me.”
