The Brazil government has expressed strong outrage after dozens of immigrants who were deported from the United States, arrived by plane in handcuffs. Terming it as a “flagrant disregard” of human rights, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said that they would demand an explanation from the Donald Trump administration, news agency AFP reported.
The controversy comes in Latin America in the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration agenda.
On the Friday night flight, when one such plane landed in Brazil’s northern city of Manaus which carried 88 Brazilians, they were found to be handcuffed. The Brazilian authorities called on the US government and ordered them to immediately remove the handcuffs. The authorities has asked US administration to explain the poor treatment of the Brazilians in the aircraft.
🇧🇷🇺🇸BRAZIL SLAMS HANDCUFFS ON DEPORTEES—TRUMP ADMIN UNMOVED
Brazil called the use of handcuffs on deportees “blatant disrespect,” demanding their removal mid-flight during an unexpected landing in Manaus.
The Trump administration, now ramping up mass deportations, sees the… https://t.co/C1DdUEQCIB pic.twitter.com/N0jKCp7yHK
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 26, 2025
Brazil’s justice ministry, in a statement, said that the Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski spoke to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and highlighted the “flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens.
Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the Brazilians being deported in the flight, said, “On the plane, they didn’t give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom.” Moura added, “It was very hot, some people fainted.”
Another migrant, Luis Antonio Rodrigues Santos (21), said that it was very hot on the plane and some people fainted. He said several people suffered respiratory problems during four hours without air conditioning.
Earlier, Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration during the election campaign and began his second term with signing executive orders aimed at deporting them from the United States.