On January 23, García was arrested in Butler County, Ohio. His wife, Duarte, could only watch as plainclothes officers handcuffed him and took him away. The family fled Venezuela in 2017 because of violent protests that killed more than 120 people. After living in Colombia and Mexico, they applied for political asylum in the U.S. García is currently in jail in Hamilton County, where he is waiting for a trial on February 10. He is in good spirits, but his young children think he is just doing “paperwork.”
García was the mayor of Mérida, a hotbed of anti-Maduro protests in 2017. Venezuela’s Supreme Court removed him from office and sentenced him to prison for refusing to take down barricades. Human rights groups say that deportation would go against the principles of non-refoulement and put him at risk of torture while repression continues under Maduro’s successor, Delcy Rodríguez. Even though Maduro was recently arrested in the U.S. on drug-related terrorism charges, loyalists still go after people like García.
Duarte posted a video on Instagram asking for help, saying that sending García back would put his life and the safety of his family at risk. ICE says he came into the country illegally in 2022 but was let go at first, promising due process. Advocates are asking the U.S. to protect dissidents while Venezuela’s democracy is still fragile, as deportation flights to the country will start up again in January.
