This is Arturo Suárez-Trejo, 33. He also goes by SuarezVzla, as a musical artist. He had left his native Venezuela in 2018 and had settled in Chile. There he made music, friends and fans, but he wanted to improve his musical skills and find more opportunities and connections in USA. So, on September 2, 2024, around 1 p.m., he entered the United States after presenting himself at the San Ysidro border crossing in California. He entered through the CBP One program, and had the protection of a parole program. A hearing on his asylum case was scheduled for April 2 of this year.
On February 8, Arturo was recording a video clip at a home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he lived. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrived and arrested the entire group of people. They first held him at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. They then transferred him to the Valle Detention Center in Texas. At one point, he told his family he was being deported to Venezuela.“
We thought they were going to deport him to Caracas, Venezuela” says his brother, Nelson Suárez-Trejo, 35, who describes Arturo as a noble man, a lover of music and poetry, who has never thrown a punch beyond his kickboxing practices.
Days after Arturo’s last call, the nightmare began. The images of the inmates, shaved, handcuffed, and sent on three flights to El Salvador as alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua, were shocking. They zoomed in on one and there was no doubt: it was Suárez.“We knew it because of the tattoos he has and his physical features,” his brother says.
No one has provided any information or warning to the family. Confirmation didn’t come until Thursday, when CBS News published an internal U.S. government list of the names of the 238 Venezuelans who were sent to the Central American country, despite a judge’s order preventing the deportation. The name Arturo Suárez-Trejo appears on the list. To this day, the family remains unaware of what will happen to him.“We haven’t received any response from the Salvadoran government. We don’t even know what charges he faces. He had no criminal record,” his brother says.Arturo’s family, friends, and fans have been circulating documents on social media confirming that he has no criminal record in any of the countries where he has lived. Dozens of people have shared his photos, his videos perched on a stage, and his love songs. They have united to demand justice for someone they describe as “a fundamental pillar of Santiago’s emerging cultural scene.”
Suárez “is an artist, not a criminal,” they assert.“He doesn’t deserve to have his life ended, to have his name tarnished,” his brother insists. “I don’t understand how they can cut short the dreams of someone who came to this country to dream big and who didn’t enter illegally. We’re affected; we’re not Tren de Aragua, we’re not even from Aragua.”
Nelson would also like to know “how he is, how they are treating him” in prison. It’s the same question being asked by Nathali, Sánchez’s wife, who has been struggling with so much concern for almost a week. “In the Texas prison, he was coughing blood and had a fever. I’m afraid it could get worse,” says the 27-year-old, who cares for their daughter, a baby born just three months ago. “I won’t rest until I see him free, until I see him with his daughter.”
Now, Arturo’s brother, Nelson, is the one who will have to take care of the baby and his wife, who remain in Chile. “She doesn’t have the means to work three months after giving birth. She’s alone, and now I, as his brother, have to take care of them.” But the thing is, Nelson is also afraid to go out on the streets. He’s an Amazon delivery driver; he has to work. His papers are in order, but nothing guarantees that the same thing that happened to Suárez won’t happen to him. “I’m also terrified of being stopped. I have my TPS, my court date, and my license, all in order, but who knows. I walk the streets in fear because I also have tattoos, but I don’t belong to any gang; all I’ve done my whole life is work.
”Credit Carla Gloria Colomé and Florantonia Singer at El Pais for the information in this post.
This is one of SuarezVzla’s music videos:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xiANLIHGMc&t=102s
#bluetrianglesolidarity
Articles:
Este es Arturo Suárez-Trejo, de 33 años. También es conocido como SuarezVzla, como artista musical. Había dejado su Venezuela natal en 2018 y se había establecido en Chile. Allí hizo música, amigos y fans, pero quería mejorar sus habilidades musicales y encontrar más oportunidades y conexiones en EE. UU. Así que, el 2 de septiembre de 2024, alrededor de la 1 p.m., ingresó a los Estados Unidos después de presentarse en el cruce fronterizo de San Ysidro en California. Ingresó a través del programa CBP One, y tenía la protección de un programa de libertad condicional. Una audiencia sobre su caso de asilo estaba programada para el 2 de abril de este año.
El 8 de febrero, Arturo estaba grabando un videoclip en una casa en Raleigh, Carolina del Norte, donde vivía. Agentes de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) llegaron y arrestaron a todo el grupo de personas. Primero lo retuvieron en el Centro de Detención Stewart en Georgia. Luego lo trasladaron al Centro de Detención Valle en Texas. En un momento, le dijo a su familia que lo estaban deportando a Venezuela.
“Pensamos que lo iban a deportar a Caracas, Venezuela”, dice su hermano, Nelson Suárez-Trejo, de 35 años, quien describe a Arturo como un hombre noble, amante de la música y la poesía, que nunca ha dado un golpe más allá de sus prácticas de kickboxing.
Días después de la última llamada de Arturo, comenzó la pesadilla. Las imágenes de los reclusos, rapados, esposados y enviados en tres vuelos a El Salvador como presuntos miembros de la banda criminal venezolana Tren de Aragua, fueron impactantes. Se acercaron a uno y no hubo duda: era Suárez. “Lo supimos por los tatuajes que tiene y sus rasgos físicos”, dice su hermano.
Nadie ha proporcionado información o advertencia a la familia. La confirmación no llegó hasta el jueves, cuando CBS News publicó una lista interna del gobierno de EE. UU. con los nombres de los 238 venezolanos que fueron enviados al país centroamericano, a pesar de la orden de un juez que impedía la deportación. El nombre de Arturo Suárez-Trejo aparece en la lista. Hasta el día de hoy, la familia desconoce qué le sucederá.
“No hemos recibido ninguna respuesta del gobierno salvadoreño. Ni siquiera sabemos qué cargos enfrenta. No tenía antecedentes penales”, dice su hermano. La familia, amigos y fans de Arturo han estado circulando documentos en las redes sociales confirmando que no tiene antecedentes penales en ninguno de los países donde ha vivido. Decenas de personas han compartido sus fotos, sus videos en un escenario y sus canciones de amor. Se han unido para exigir justicia para alguien a quien describen como “un pilar fundamental de la escena cultural emergente de Santiago”.
“Suárez es un artista, no un criminal”, afirman. “No merece que le corten la vida, que manchen su nombre”, insiste su hermano. “No entiendo cómo pueden truncar los sueños de alguien que vino a este país a soñar en grande y que no ingresó ilegalmente. Estamos afectados; no somos Tren de Aragua, ni siquiera somos de Aragua”.
Nelson también le gustaría saber “cómo está, cómo lo están tratando” en prisión. Es la misma pregunta que se hace Nathali, la esposa de Sánchez, que ha estado luchando con tanta preocupación desde hace casi una semana. “En la prisión de Texas, estaba tosiendo sangre y tenía fiebre. Temo que pueda empeorar”, dice la joven de 27 años, que cuida a su hija, una bebé nacida hace apenas tres meses. “No descansaré hasta verlo libre, hasta verlo con su hija”.
Ahora, el hermano de Arturo, Nelson, es quien tendrá que cuidar del bebé y de su esposa, que permanecen en Chile. “Ella no tiene los medios para trabajar tres meses después de dar a luz. Está sola, y ahora yo, como su hermano, tengo que cuidar de ellos”. Pero el problema es que Nelson también tiene miedo de salir a la calle. Es repartidor de Amazon; tiene que trabajar. Sus papeles están en regla, pero nada garantiza que no le suceda lo mismo que a Suárez. “También tengo miedo de ser detenido. Tengo mi TPS, mi fecha de corte y mi licencia, todo en regla, pero quién sabe. Camino por las calles con miedo porque también tengo tatuajes, pero no pertenezco a ninguna banda; todo lo que he hecho toda mi vida es trabajar”.
Crédito a Carla Gloria Colomé y Florantonia Singer en El País por la información en esta publicación.
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One response to “Arturo Suarez Trejo ”
He shared the words with us. (Intro)
Yeah…
They took my brother without an explanation,
locked up in El Salvador, no justification.
Donald Trump signed the paper, Bukele locked him away,
and Maduro stayed silent, just watching the play.
(Verse 1)
Where’s the law? Where’s the right?
They took innocents, now they’re locked inside.
Called them scum, sent them far away,
no proof, no guilt, just paying in pain.
My bro was just chasing a better dream,
now he’s stuck in cells with violent fiends.
His three-month-old daughter cries for her dad,
his wife keeps praying, but only God understands.
(Punchline)
Trump played the judge with a single decree,
Bukele cheered and signed the spree.
Now tell me, who answers for all this pain?
Or does justice only serve those who gain?
(Chorus)
Justice, justice, we won’t stay quiet,
my brother’s innocent, we’ll start a riot.
Don’t stay silent, it’s time to shout,
wake up the world, let the truth come out.
Dart Martins
(Verse 2)
They deported them, they branded them,
threw them in cages, then forgot about them.
But Maduro won’t stay still for long,
when the fire rises, the puppets are gone.
Men in suits don’t walk these streets,
they don’t see the families crushed by grief.
If the people don’t speak, history will say,
those who sow hate will be cursed one day.
(Punchline)
This ain’t politics, this is real,
they took innocents just for the deal.
But blood can’t wash off a decree,
and truth always breaks free.
(Bridge)
Who steps up? Who sends the call?
Who’s got the guts to name it all?
If they silence the story, the story ignites,
cause truth always breaks the chains at night.
(Final Chorus)
Justice, justice, we won’t stay quiet,
my brother’s innocent, we’ll start a riot.
Don’t stay silent, it’s time to shout,
wake up the world, let the truth come out.