"Testimony of Deported Venezuelan: 'I Was There but Not Alive,' Recounting 15 Days in Guantanamo"
Rewritten Article:
In cuffs, José Daniel Simancas Rodríguez boarded a plane, bound for an unknown destination. What started as a routine deportation slowly transformed into a 15-day ordeal, one he describes as a living nightmare.
Simancas was among 177 Venezuelans expelled by the United States and relocated to the US naval base in Cuba. Critics, including human rights organizations, argue that the base is unsuitable for housing migrants, a claim Simancas supports based on his harrowing experience.
Speaking to CNN, Simancas shares his harrowing account – isolated, deprived of basic comforts, subjected to constant surveillance, unable to shower for extended periods, and left to rely on meager rations. The only sound that filled the air was the horrible wails of fellow detainees. The mental and physical torment was so intense that Simancas contemplated suicide.
Initially, Simancas feared he would never see his five children again. "I had given up hope," he recalled. "Being confined is torture. You're not alive. You're there, and you're not really alive. I cried every day for those 15 days."
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency declined to comment on these allegations, citing pending litigation. Court documents suggest that Simancas re-entered the United States illegally after his initial expulsion. Simancas denies these claims.
More than a month after announcing the transfer of migrants to Guantanamo and the creation of facilities to house approximately 30,000 deportees, construction of tents at the base has been halted. A source informed CNN in February that the halt was due to concerns about whether the tents meet detainee standards. Despite the suspension of tent construction, migrants are still being held at the base's detention center and the Migrant Operations Center.
A treacherous journey to 'hell'
Like many immigrants, Simancas illegally entered the United States through the treacherous Darien jungle in 2024. He had resided in Ecuador until 2022, spending time in Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico before reaching the US. His goal was to find a better life.
Throughout his youth, Simancas worked in construction, starting as a laborer and eventually becoming a foreman in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. He hoped to continue his construction career on American soil.
Upon arrival, he was detained and spent eight days in a federal prison and then nine months at the US Immigration Service Detention Center in El Paso, Texas. Immigration agents interrogated him, raising concerns due to his birthplace in Maracay, Aragua state, and his tattoos, which he had acquired since he was 16. Agents suspect connections to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, labeled a terrorist group by the United States.
US authorities have linked Venezuelan migrants sent to Guantanamo with ties to Tren de Aragua. "I was the only one they singled out for saying I was from Maracay," Simancas explained. "For them, I was already part of the Tren de Aragua."
When the Trump administration announced that Guantanamo Bay would house the "worst of the worst," several court documents revealed that not all individuals sent there represented a "high threat."
Simancas' group of 15 detainees was initially told they would be transferred to Miami but ended up at the Cuba-based naval base instead.
Finally, Simancas' 15-day stint at Guantanamo ended on February 20, with the Venezuelans housed at the military base being taken to Honduras and subsequently transported back to Venezuela by a plane operated by the Venezuelan government's Conviasa airline, at the request of the Venezuelan government.
Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan President, stated at the time that the Venezuelans held in Guantanamo were not criminals but innocent emigrants forced to flee their homeland due to US sanctions. "In Venezuela, we welcome them with open arms, as a productive force," Maduro said.
Approximately 8 million people have fled Venezuela since 2014 as a result of the country's ongoing political, economic, and social crisis.
Maduro recently mentioned that the US's decision to revoke Chevron's oil operation license in Venezuela has affected relations between the two nations and hindered efforts to repatriate Venezuelan migrants.
Now back home, Simancas has reunited with his mother and children. "The joy of seeing my children again is immeasurable," he told CNN, his words marred by tears. "I want to find work doing what I've always known – construction – and leave behind the American dream that ended up being nothing but memories I'd rather forget."
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health issues, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 in the US. Click here for help in Latin American countries and Spain. Learn more at cnne.com/ayuda.
- Jose Simancas, a migrant from Venezuela, was transferred from the US to Guantanamo Bay where he was detained for a horrific 15 days, comparing his experience to a living nightmare.
- Human rights organizations and Simancas himself believe that Guantanamo is unsuitable for housing migrants, citing inhumane conditions such as isolation, lack of basic comforts, constant surveillance, lack of proper hygiene facilities, and meager rations.
- Despite the halt on tent construction at the Guantanamo base due to concerns about detainee standards, migrants continue to be held at the detention center and the Migrant Operations Center.
