A Global X Airlines plane carrying Brazilians deported from the United States arrives at an airport in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, on Feb. 7, 2025. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua)
SAO PAULO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The authorities of Ceara, a northeastern state in Brazil, announced on Friday that they are investigating potential human rights violations during the repatriation of Brazilian migrants by the United States.
They reported that among the 111 Brazilian migrants deported by the United States, several were handcuffed and shackled during the flight, and the majority were denied food for 12 hours.
"The people aboard the plane told us that they suffered a lot," said Socorro Franca, secretary of human rights of the state, at a press conference after receiving the deportees at the airport of Fortaleza, the regional capital.
Franca added that upon arrival in Brazil, the deportees' restraints were removed, and they were provided with essential supplies, including mineral water, food and hygiene kits, allowing them to freshen up at a reception center.
Since the new U.S. administration assumed office, it has continued to pressure Latin American countries on the issue of large-scale repatriation of undocumented immigrants.
On Jan. 24, when a charter flight deporting migrants arrived in Manaus, a city in northern Brazil, 88 deported Brazilians were still handcuffed. The Brazilian government deemed this treatment "degrading" and "unacceptable." In response, Brazil's foreign ministry summoned the charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Brazil to address the matter. ■
Brazilians deported from the United States board a Brazilian Air Force aircraft at an airport in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, on Feb. 7, 2025. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua)
Brazilians deported from the United States board a Brazilian Air Force aircraft at an airport in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, on Feb. 7, 2025. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua)
Brazilians deported from the United States board a Brazilian Air Force aircraft at an airport in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, on Feb. 7, 2025. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua)
A Global X Airlines plane carrying Brazilians deported from the United States arrives at an airport in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, on Feb. 7, 2025. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua)
