'Let my son go' Venezuelans in shock as US 'disappears' makeup artist for his tattoos

Venezuelans in shock as US 'disappears' makeup artist for his tattoos

- Tom Phillips Clavel Rangel

For as long as he can remember, Andry José Hernández Romero was enthralled by the Three Kings Day celebrations for which his Venezuelan home town is famed, joining thousands of fellow Christians on the streets of Capacho to remember how the wise men visited baby Jesus bearing gifts.

At seven, Hernández became a "mini king", as members of the town's youth drama group Los Mini Reyes were known. Later in life, he tattooed two crowns on his wrists to memorialise those carnival-like celebrations and his Catholic roots.

"Most Capacheros get crown tattoos, often adding the name of their father or mother. We've lots of people with these tattoos - it's a tradition that began in 1917," said Miguel Chacón, the president of Capacho's Three Kings Day foundation.

The tradition appears to have been lost on the US immigration officers who detained Hernández, a 31-year-old makeup artist, hairdresser and theatre lover, after he crossed the border last August to attend a prearranged asylum appointment in San Diego.

Hernández, who is gay, told agents he was fleeing persecution stemming from his sexual orientation and political views.

Just weeks earlier, Venezuela's authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, had unleashed a crackdown after being accused of stealing the presidential election to extend his 12-year rule.

But Hernández's tattoos were deemed proof he was a member of Venezuela's most notorious gang, the Tren de Aragua, and a security threat to the US.

"Detainee Hernández sports tattoo 'crowns' that are consistent with those of a Tren de Aragua member," an agent at California's Otay Mesa detention centre claimed, according to court documents published this week.

Those 16 words appear to have sealed the fate of the Venezuelan, who friends, family and lawyers insist has never committed a crime.