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The Independent
24-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Migrant deported to notorious El Salvador prison demands $1.3M from Trump administration after savage beatings, vile conditions and 24-hour confinement
Federal agents arrested Neiyerver Adrian Leon Rengel outside his apartment in Texas on his 27th birthday. Two days later, he was deported to a brutal prison in El Salvador, where he was packed in a jail cell with more than a dozen other Venezuelan men for up to 24 hours a day, for four months. Inside El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, Rengel 'endured physical, verbal and psychological abuse,' including routine beatings from guards using their fists and batons, according to his complaint to the Department of Homeland Security Thursday. The details of Rengel's removal from the United States, and his time spent in CECOT, constitute the first legal action against Donald Trump's administration in the wake of a prisoner swap that the release of 250 Venezuelans from the notorious Salvadoran jail. Rengel's administrative claim seeks $1.3 million in damages, alleging wrongful detention and personal injury. The claim is the first step towards a lawsuit against the administration, which has faced an avalanche of legal challenges related to the summary removal of dozens of immigrants to a foreign prison where they faced the prospect of indefinite detention. 'You don't have to be a constitutional scholar for the Rengel case to set off alarms,' according to Norm Eisen, executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, which filed the claim on Rengel's behalf. 'Detaining and disappearing someone without cause or access to legal recourse is illegal and abhorrent,' he added. 'This kind of conduct may be straight out of the Trump playbook on immigration, but it has nothing to do with the American Constitution or our values.' The Independent has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment. Rengel came to the U.S. in 2023 by appointment through the CBP One app, a Joe Biden-era program that allowed immigrants to schedule with immigration officers before arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. He also applied for temporary protected status, with a pending immigration court date in 2028, according to his attorneys. After his arrest, agents falsely claimed his tattoos were affiliated with Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua, which he has adamantly denied, according to the complaint. He was not allowed to challenge that 'flimsy pretext for removal' under Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act, which labels Venezuelan 'members' of Tren de Aragua 'alien enemies' who can be summarily deported. Federal authorities have wide discretion to determine membership, largely by pointing to their tattoos. Inside CECOT, Rengel was routinely beaten, and on one occasion, taken to an area of the prison without cameras where guards 'viciously' attacked him, according to his complaint. Rengel was also 'forced to witness guards severely beating' other detainees, the complaint says. CECOT guards 'would turn out the light, take a detainee out of the cell, and attack them outside their cell in front of Rengel and his cellmates,' according to the complaint. Rengel was imprisoned with 18 or 19 other Venezuelans inside a cell no larger than 10-by-10 feet, and the men were rarely allowed to leave, staying inside the cell up to 24 hours a day, the complaint says. They shared two toilets in the cell without any privacy, and the cell was only cleaned once a week, according to Rengel. The Red Cross visited the facility on June 12, and Rengel spoke with the group for 30 minutes — his only contact with the outside world during his imprisonment, according to the complaint. On July 18, following trilateral negotiations with the U.S. and Salvadoran and Venezuelan governments, Rengel and more than 250 other Venezuelans jailed inside the facility were returned to their home country. Rengel has since returned to his mother's home in Municipio Baruta, Venezuela, and is 'terrified to return to the United States given the horrendous treatment he endured,' according to his complaint. Court orders in several cases urged administration officials to 'facilitate' the return of immigrants wrongfully deported to CECOT, and the top judge in Washington, D.C., has threatened officials with contempt after defying his orders to turn the planes around in the first place. Officials claimed for months that the United States no longer has jurisdiction over deportees that were locked up in El Salvador. But authorities in that country recently told the United Nations that the 'legal responsibility for these people lie exclusively' with the U.S. government. Attorneys for Rengel argue that his release — along with the release of dozens of other Venezuelan detainees — demonstrate that the U.S. government has always had the ability to secure their release. 'Mr. Rengel's loved ones were cut off from contact, left with no answers, and forced to endure months of fear, confusion, and heartbreak," according to Juan Proaño, president of Latino civil rights organization LULAC, which is representing Rengel. 'While no amount of money will ever be able to make up for the deeply traumatic wounds Mr. Rengel now bears, our government has the responsibility to ensure he and his family have the resources they need as they cope,' Proaño said.
Indian Express
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
L K Advani's prison diaries: Constitutional morality, Indira Gandhi, and Thomas Jefferson
Detained without trial for months in Bangalore Central jail, L K Advani maintained a prison notebook. On December 28, 1975, when Emergency was in full swing, the then Jana Sangh leader wrote that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wanted the Constitution to be changed after a public debate but questioned her intentions, and countered her claim that the Opposition was in favour of an 'inflexible Constitution'. The observations are important given that 50 years after Emergency, both the government and the Opposition continue to swear by the Constitution and accuse each other of trying to damage it. Advani wrote that in an interview given just before the All India Congress Committee (AICC) session in Chandigarh earlier that month, Gandhi cited Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States and its third President, who believed that the life of a Constitution should be just two decades. 'Indira Gandhi's statement is a part of an interview she gave to the souvenir published on the eve of the Congress session at Chandigarh. In the interview, she quotes Thomas Jefferson's well-known dictum about the desirability of reviewing a country's Constitution every twenty years. She has cited him against the opposition whom she described as being opposed to any change in the Constitution,' Advani wrote in A Prisoners' Scrap-Book, his writings in jail from 1975 to 1977 that later acquired the form of a book. While Gandhi had accused the Opposition of being against any change in the Constitution, Advani said the latter was in favour of desirable change but not change that would damage democracy. The argument Jefferson made is found in a letter he wrote to James Madison, his successor as US President and the person considered the 'father of the American Constitution', on September 6, 1789. '… No society can make a perpetual Constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs always to the living generation. They may manage it then, and what proceeds from it, as they please, during their usufruct. The constitution and the laws of their predecessors extinguished, in their natural course, with those who gave them being… Every constitution then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of 19 years. If it is enforced longer, it is an act of force, and not of right.' Taking a dig at the Congress, Advani wrote, 'There has lately been a welter of statements by Congressmen that the Constitution needs to be changed early and that delay would be disastrous. Indira Gandhi threw cold water on such talk with a statement that changes in the Constitution should be preceded by a thorough-going public debate.' He added, 'As if an electric button has been pressed, the tenor of speeches regarding constitutional amendment changes. Every Congress chhut-bhaiya (small fry) now talks of the need for a public discussion on the issue.' Advani wrote in his diary that 'none of the opposition parties in the JP movement is opposed to desirable changes in the Constitution'. 'Indeed, if one were to go through the election manifestos of the various political parties for the 1971 and 1972 elections, one would find that they are more committed to constitutional reform than the ruling party. The Jana Sangh has favoured the setting up of a Commission on the Constitution to review its working. The Socialist Party has advocated a fresh constituent assembly. So, there is no substance in Indira Gandhi's charge that the opposition parties are for an inflexible Constitution,' he wrote. The Jana Sangh leader, who was later among those who founded the BJP, accused the Indira Gandhi government of trying to change the Constitution in an ill-intentioned manner. 'We, however, hold that the present Government's annoyance with the Constitution stems not from social or economic factors, as it keeps propagating, but from political considerations. It is the democratic content of the Constitution which the present Establishment regards as a roadblock to its ambitions.' Advani added, 'The Emergency empowers the Government to suspend any of the Fundamental Rights. It is significant that Article 31, namely that relating to the right to property, has not been suspended. The Articles suspended are Article 14 (right to equality), Article 19 (the seven freedoms of expression, assembly, association, movement, trade etc.) and Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty etc). These are the provisions which embody a citizen's democratic rights. The Executive can ride roughshod over these rights during an Emergency. It is doing so shamelessly these days.' The Jana Sangh leader accused the Emergency regime of trying to 'make its present authority perpetual under the Constitution'. 'The ruling party has the requisite majority also to make the necessary change in the Constitution. But the Keshavananda Bharati judgment which lays down that the basic democratic structure of the Constitution cannot be altered has become an insurmountable hurdle. That is why the Government is so bitter about this judgment.' Advani was referring to the judgment of the 13-member constitution bench of 1973 that while the Constitution gave Parliament the right to amend it under Article 368, it could not be used to destroy the Constitution. It was in this context that the Supreme Court put in place the basic structure doctrine: certain fundamental features such as democracy, secularism, the rule of law, and judicial review cannot be taken away by Parliament through constitutional amendments. Irony of quoting Jefferson Taking a dig at the irony of the PM for quoting the third US president, Advani said it was a 'pleasant surprise to hear Indira Gandhi quote Jefferson'. 'For the past few months, quoting Western Liberal thinkers has become passe, if not altogether retrograde and reactionary,' he wrote. 'However, one wonders how familiar Indira Gandhi is with the political philosophy of Jefferson. His views reek with sedition. God forbid, he wrote to a friend, that we should ever be twenty years without a revolution.' Advani added that 'one of Jefferson's biggest contributions to liberal political thought is his insistence that a citizen has the right to defy an unconstitutional statute'. 'What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that the people preserve the spirit of resistance?' he added, quoting Jefferson. He quoted the former US president as saying that 'censorship of any kind would negate the very spirit of democracy by substituting tyranny over the mind for despotism over the body'. Advani added, 'Jefferson was the author of the American Declaration of Independence proclaimed in 1776. There is no doubt that if Jefferson had been living in India in the year of grace 1976, his speeches and writings would have made him one of the greatest threats to the security of the State and landed him behind the bars as a MISA detenu.'
Associated Press
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
A Vision of Compassionate Leadership: 'I Dream of Kamelot' Reimagines What True Leadership Looks Like
A Powerful Literary Tribute to Madame Vice President Kamala Harris Portrays Her as a Beacon of Compassionate Leadership in 'I Dream of Kamelot'. Available now on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Kindle Author Julius Walker unveils a bold and timely literary work, I Dream of Kamelot, a thought-provoking homage to Madame Vice President Kamala Harris, portraying her not just as a political leader, but as a symbol of a new era - a figure of hope, compassion, and justice. Now available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook formats on Barnes & Noble and Amazon/Kindle, I Dream of Kamelot stands at the intersection of political reflection and poetic aspiration. The book introduces readers to the concept of 'Kamelot' - a play on 'Camelot' - symbolizing a utopia led by empathy, fairness, and humanity. In this vision, Kamala Harris emerges not just as the first woman and woman of color to serve as Vice President, but as a transformative force: a Leader of Love, Compassion, and Understanding. The book draws a sharp contrast between Harris and her political opposition, most notably former President Donald J. Trump. Where the latter is depicted as divisive, Walker presents Harris as the embodiment of the Blue Wave - progressive, inclusive, and deeply committed to the ideals enshrined in the American Constitution: liberty, equality, and justice for all. 'In a world riddled with darkness, Kamala Harris shines like a bright star on a very dark night,' says Walker. 'She represents a beacon of hope not only for America, but for humanity at large.' I Dream of Kamelot explores themes that transcend politics: human dignity, moral leadership, and the enduring power of empathy in governance. Rooted in the historical narrative of American idealism, the book aligns itself with pivotal moments in U.S. history - echoing the 18th-century values of the American Revolution, yet reimagining them for the 21st-century reader. By drawing on Harris's personal and political journey, the book articulates a deep yearning for a new type of leader - one who leads not by fear or force, but by courage, integrity, and heart. With lyrical prose and persuasive insight, Julius Walker positions Kamala Harris as a cultural and political figurehead for a generation that longs for unity and purpose. Whether you're a student of United States history, a political enthusiast, or someone searching for hope in turbulent times, I Dream of Kamelot promises to inspire. For more information, please visit Instagram: Youtube: The Leap: Twitter: Shopify: TikTok: Title: I Dream of Kamelot Author: Julius Walker Available Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook Where to Buy: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kindle Media Contact Company Name: . Contact Person: Julius Walker Email: Send Email Phone: 818-470-2660 Address:9800 Topanga Canyon Blvd D238 City: Chatsworth State: California Country: United States Website: Source: Xpress Newswire
Kuwait Times
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Protesters rally against ‘king' Trump
Hundreds of thousands flood US streets to decry president's policies NEW YORK: A giant orange balloon depicting Donald Trump in a diaper towered over one 'No Kings' protest Saturday, as hundreds of thousands thronged streets across the United States to decry the president's policies. Protest organizers expected rallies in all 50 US states, calling them the largest since Trump returned to office in January, with the aim of 'rejecting authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy.' Wielding signs with messages like 'No KKKings' and 'No crown for the clown', the protests stood in stark contrast to a massive military parade in Washington on Saturday. The parade was meant to commemorate the founding of the US Army, but also fell on the president's 79th birthday. As thousands of soldiers marched and tanks rumbled through Washington's streets, protesters across the country slammed Trump as a 'fascist'. 'We have a dictator,' said Robin Breed, a 56-year-old retired nurse, in Austin, Texas, where thousands demonstrated while surrounded by hundreds of police and state troopers. 'He is trampling on people's lives, he's militarizing our streets, he is terrorizing our communities,' he said, insisting it was important 'to push back and say it's our country, not his.' In New York, tens of thousands of people, many wearing raincoats and carrying colorful umbrellas, marched down Fifth Avenue in a downpour to the sounds of drums, bells and chants of 'Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go!' Actors Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo were seen getting drenched among the protesters. 'I'm miserable and outraged about how this administration is destroying the ideals of the American Constitution,' Polly Shulman, a 62-year-old museum employee, told AFP. Holding a sign reading 'Protect the Constitution,' she said the most shocking thing was 'the illegal deportations of law-abiding residents. They were 'being kidnapped and disappeared and sent to torture prisons in foreign countries.' In March, the Trump administration expelled more than 250 Venezuelans to a mega-prison in El Salvador after accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang, which it has declared a terrorist organization. At least four protesters in New York were arrested at a separate, smaller protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, police said. LOS ANGELES: Demonstrators deploy a giant banner reading "We the People", the first three words of the US Constitution's preamble, during a "No Kings" rally on June 14, 2025. WASHINGTON: Protesters rally at Lafayette Square during a "No Kings" protest on June 14, 2025. NEW YORK: US actors Susan Sarandon (center) and Mark Ruffalo (left) march along demonstrators protesting the Trump administration during the "No Kings" rally. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: A protester holds a sign during the "No Kings" national demonstration against US President Donald Trump and federal immigration operations on June 14, 2025. LOS ANGELES: A protester kicks a tear gas canister as police attempt to disperse protesters gathered to demonstrate against the Trump administration. 'I think people are mad as hell,' said Lindsay Ross, a 28-year-old musician who urged others to show 'the administration that we're not going to take this'. Bill Kennedy, a retired psychologist from Pennsylvania, was in Washington protesting a few hours before Trump's $45 million parade. 'I'm tired of the current administration. I think they're a bunch of fascists,' he said, describing the military parade as 'ridiculous'. Suzanne Brown in Boston also lamented the money spent on the parade 'for one man's vanity.' Massive 'No Kings' protests were also held in Los Angeles, which in recent days has been rocked by demonstrations over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, as federal agents swept up even law-abiding undocumented people. On Saturday, protesters shouted 'You are not welcome here' at some of the 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines that Trump dispatched to the city against the wishes of local and state authorities. With a giant orange Trump-in-a-diaper balloon towering above them, thousands filled the city streets, sporting slogans like 'No faux-king way' and 'Impeach Trump'. Members of Russian feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot held up a large banner in front of city hall warning: 'It's beginning to look a lot like Russia.' After a day of largely peaceful protests, police on Saturday evening unexpectedly began moving people away from the protest area, igniting confusion and anger among demonstrators caught off guard and unsure of where to go. Police on horseback pushed crowds back as law enforcement fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades hours ahead of an 8:00 pm (0300 GMT) curfew. A police spokeswoman said a 'small group of agitators' had begun throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks at officers, prompting the decision to order the crowd to disperse. If people refused to leave, 'we will make arrests,' she said, adding: 'We have been patient all day.' There was unrest elsewhere, too, with at least one person 'critically injured' in a shooting at a demonstration in the western US city of Salt Lake City, police said, with local media reporting the incident took place at a 'No Kings' rally. In Virginia, police said a man in Culpeper 'intentionally' rammed his car into a group of demonstrators as they left an anti-Trump event. No injuries were reported. — AFP
RTÉ News
15-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Waves of protesters flooded US streets against 'king' Trump
A giant orange balloon depicting Donald Trump in a nappy towered over one "No Kings" protest as hundreds of thousands thronged streets across the United States to decry the president's policies. Protest organisers expected rallies in all 50 US states, calling them the largest since Mr Trump returned to office in January, with the aim of "rejecting authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarisation of our democracy." Wielding signs with messages like "No KKKings" and "No crown for the clown," the protests stood in stark contrast to a massive military parade in Washington. The parade was meant to commemorate the founding of the US Army, but also fell on the president's 79th birthday. As thousands of soldiers marched and tanks rumbled through Washington's streets, protesters across the country slammed Trump as a "fascist." "We have a dictator," said Robin Breed, a 56-year-old retired nurse, in Austin, Texas, where thousands demonstrated while surrounded by hundreds of police and state troopers. "He is trampling on people's lives, he's militarising our streets, he is terrorising our communities," he said, insisting it was important "to push back and say it's our country, not his." In New York, tens of thousands of people, many wearing raincoats and carrying colourful umbrellas, marched down Fifth Avenue in a downpour to the sounds of drums, bells and chants of "Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go!" Actors Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo were seen getting drenched among the protesters. 'Outraged' "I'm miserable and outraged about how this administration is destroying the ideals of the American Constitution," Polly Shulman, a 62-year-old museum employee, said. Holding a sign reading "Protect the Constitution," she said the most shocking thing was "the illegal deportations of law-abiding residents. They were "being kidnapped and disappeared and sent to torture prisons in foreign countries." In March, the Trump administration expelled more than 250 Venezuelans to a mega-prison in El Salvador after accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang, which it has declared a terrorist organisation. At least four protesters in New York were arrested at a separate, smaller protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, police said. 'Mad as hell' "I think people are mad as hell," said Lindsay Ross, a 28-year-old musician who urged others to show "the administration that we're not going to take this." Bill Kennedy, a retired psychologist from Pennsylvania, was in Washington protesting a few hours before Mr Trump's $45 million parade. "I'm tired of the current administration. I think they're a bunch of fascists," he said, describing the military parade as "ridiculous." Suzanne Brown in Boston also lamented the money spent on the parade "for one man's vanity." Massive "No Kings" protests also took place in Los Angeles, which in recent days has been rocked by demonstrations over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, as federal agents swept up even law-abiding undocumented people. Protesters shouted "You are not welcome here" at some of the 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines that Mr Trump dispatched to the city against the wishes of local and state authorities. With a giant orange Trump-in-a-nappy balloon towering above them, thousands filled the city streets, sporting slogans like "No faux-king way" and "Impeach Trump." Members of Russian feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot held up a large banner in front of city hall warning: "It's beginning to look a lot like Russia." After a day of largely peaceful protests, police yesterday evening unexpectedly began moving people away from the protest area, igniting confusion and anger among demonstrators caught off guard and unsure of where to go. Police on horseback pushed crowds back as law enforcement fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades hours ahead of an 8pm local time curfew. A police spokeswoman said a "small group of agitators" had begun throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks at officers, prompting the decision to order the crowd to disperse. If people refused to leave, "we will make arrests," she said, adding: "We have been patient all day." Police say one 'critically injured' in shooting at US protest There was unrest elsewhere, too, with at least one person "critically injured" in a shooting at a demonstration in the western US city of Salt Lake City, police said, with local media reporting the incident took place at a "No Kings" rally. Police said the incident occurred during the protest that drew about 10,000 people. Police Chief Brian Redd stressed during a news conference that the events leading up to the shooting "were very peaceful," adding that the first person taken in custody had a gunshot wound and was transported to the hospital. Two other individuals involved in the incident were also taken into custody, he said. "At this time, there is... no ongoing threats to the public," Mr Redd said, adding that it was too early in their investigation to say if the shooting was politically motivated. City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said "this act of violence does not define" Salt Lake City - a Democratic bastion in the deep-red Republican state of Utah. "The purpose of today's demonstration was a powerful and peaceful expression until this event and that cannot be overshadowed or silenced by a single act meant to harm," she said. "We are a nation that needs our First Amendment right, we deserve to protest in peace. And what happened today I hope will not silence the voices of the public who deserve to have their voices heard." In Virginia, police said a man in Culpeper "intentionally" rammed his car into a group of demonstrators as they left an anti-Trump event. No injuries were reported.
