An instance of a tattoo the Trump administration says identifies the wearer as a member of a violent Venezuelan gang was apparently lifted from a random British man who has no gang affiliation in any respect.
“I’m just an average middle-aged man from Derbyshire,” Pete Belton informed the BBC after the outlet linked a tattoo of a clock on Belton’s elbow to the exact same one in a Division of Homeland Safety coaching handbook.
Somewhat than signify his predilection for violence, Belton, 44, mentioned the tattoo commemorates the beginning of his daughter, with the hour and minute arms pointing to the time of her supply.
The identical picture additionally appeared in a PowerPoint presentation ready by the Texas Division of Public Security in September 2024:
Texas Division Of Public Security
Different examples offered within the doc embody tattoos of the long-lasting Michael Jordan silhouette, trains, stars and crowns.
Final month, the Trump administration despatched an expert soccer participant named Jerce Reyes Barrios to a brutal jail in El Salvador allegedly primarily based on a crown tattoo. Barrios’ lawyer mentioned the tattoo is merely an homage to the soccer membership Actual Madrid, which leans closely on crown imagery.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been instructed to establish members of Tren de Aragua utilizing a points-based system, an “Alien Enemy Validation Guide” obtained by the ACLU exhibits.
Tattoos, such because the above, that purportedly “denote loyalty” to TdA, rely for 4 factors. Different symbolism-based factors might be assigned for carrying suspicious clothes (4 factors), utilizing suspicious hand indicators (2 factors) or posting TdA symbols on social media (2 factors).
Anybody scoring 8 factors or greater is robotically thought-about a member of Tren de Aragua, whereas immigrants who rating 6 or 7 factors “may be validated” as members ― however solely after a dialog with the officer’s supervisor.
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Belton insists he’s no Venezuelan gangster. However he informed the BBC he’s nonetheless rethinking a deliberate household trip to Miami this fall, fearing it might as an alternative flip into an “all-inclusive holiday to Guantanamo.”
How his elbow ended up in a coaching handbook to establish criminals in a completely totally different a part of the world stays unclear. The Division of Homeland Safety didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
