ICE deportes Venezuelan guard officer accused of torturing anti-Maduro protesters
ICE announced it has sent Venezuelan National Guard colonel Rafael José Quero Silva back to Venezuela after a judge ordered his removal for alleged torture of dissenters.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed the deportation of Rafael José Quero Silva, a colonel in Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard, after a DOJ immigration judge ordered his removal. Detained in 2025 after victims reported his presence, he had entered the United States in 2016 and later sought asylum. During his command of the Guard’s 47th detachment in Barquisimeto, he allegedly directed the torture of at least 74 peaceful protesters in 2013, employing electric shocks, beatings and threats of sexual assault.
Five Venezuelan plaintiffs have sued him in federal court, describing wounds ranging from abdominal gunshots to projectile strikes and severe psychological distress. ICE officials credited joint efforts with FBI Miami, HSI Miami and the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center for the case. The deportation follows earlier ICE actions against officials from Cuba and other repressive regimes.
Why it matters
It shows U.S. immigration enforcement targeting alleged human-rights abusers, reinforcing accountability for foreign officials on American soil.
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