‘NIGHTMARE’: Two people on the plane to Brazil said US authorities did not give them water or allow them to use the bathroom, and that their hands and feet were tied
AFP, SAO PAULO, Brazil
Brazil’s government on Saturday expressed outrage after dozens of immigrants deported from the US arrived by plane in handcuffs, calling it a “flagrant disregard” for their rights.
The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would demand an explanation from Washington over the “degrading treatment of passengers on the flight.”
The spat comes as Latin America grapples with US President Donald Trump’s return to power bringing a hardline anti-immigration agenda, promising crackdowns on irregular migration and mass deportations.
Luis Antonio Rodrigues Santos, center, is hugged by Eliana Campos after being deported from the US and arriving at Confins International Airport in Confins, Brazil, on Saturday.
Photo: AFP
When the plane landed in the northern city of Manaus, Brazilian authorities ordered US officials to “immediately remove the handcuffs,” the Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security said in a statement.
Brazilian Minister of Justice and Public Security Ricardo Lewandowski told Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of “the flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens,” the statement said.
Brazil would request “explanations from the US government about the degrading treatment of passengers” on the Friday night flight, the foreign ministry wrote on X.
The government said 88 Brazilians were aboard the aircraft.
Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician, was on the flight, after seven months in detention in the US.
“On the plane they didn’t give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom,” he said. “It was very hot, some people fainted.”
Luis Antonio Rodrigues Santos, a 21-year-old freelancer, recounted the “nightmare” of people with “respiratory problems” during “four hours without air-conditioning” due to technical issues on the plane.
“Things have already changed [with Trump]; immigrants are treated as criminals,” he said.
The flight was originally destined for the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, but encountered a technical issue forcing it to land in Manaus.
A government source said the deportation flight was not directly linked to any immigration orders issued by Trump upon taking office on Monday last week, but rather stemmed from a 2017 bilateral agreement.
Brazilian Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship Macae Evaristo told journalists that “children with autism … who went through very serious experiences” were also on the flight.
