Latest news with #Arturo
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Survivors of Astroworld Tragedy Reveal What They Think of Travis Scott Now: ‘Can't Support That'
Three years after the mass casualty incident at the infamous Astroworld festival, survivors are speaking out about what they think of Travis Scott now. Netflix's Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy, which premiered on Tuesday, June 10, featured interviews from survivors of the crowd surge, families of the victims and members of the Houston Police Department. Several of the festival goers admitted that their thoughts on Scott, 34, have changed after seeing how he handled the aftermath of the deadly tragedy. "My love for Travis was definitely at one point boiling hot. But now hate is a strong word," Arturo, who had a health scare at the concert, admitted in the documentary. "But I just can't support that anymore." In November 2021, Scott was performing at NRG Park in Houston, Texas, when the crowd surged toward the stage. The rush left 10 people dead and more than 100 injured. Scott initially broke his silence on the tragedy one day after his concert. 'Mass Casualty Incident' at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival: Everything We Know So Far 'I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival," he tweeted at the time. "Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. Arturo slammed Scott's initial response to the deaths at the Astroworld festival, adding, "It was like a slap in the face to me and to everyone who suffered. It wasn't really [genuine], it was like he made it because he had to." Another documentary participant had the same thought. "'Oh, well. I'm sorry, guys. Catch you at the next one.' That's what the vibes were to me," she said, while a third survivor noted, "It just looked bad. It looked really bad and you didn't look like a superhero like you once did." Scott later elaborated via his Instagram Stories that he didn't know the 'severity of the situation" until the show was over. 'I just want to send out prayers to all the ones that was lost last night,' he said in a video. 'We're actually working right now [on] how to identify the families so we can help the system through this tough time … We've been working closely with everyone to try to get to the bottom of this.' In a December 2021 YouTube video, Scott claimed he was unaware of the nature of the attendees' injuries because he couldn't see the entire crowd from the stage. 'And even at that moment, you're like, 'Wait, what?' People pass out, things happen at concerts, but something like that [is different],' he said during a discussion with Charlamagne tha God. 'It's so crazy because I'm that artist too — anytime you can hear something like that, you want to stop the show. You want to make sure fans get the proper attention they need. Anytime I could see anything like that, I did. I stopped it a couple times to just make sure everybody was OK. And I really just go off the fans' energy as a collective — call and response. I just didn't hear that. You can only help what you can see and whatever you're told, whenever they tell you to stop, you stop.' Several people who attended the event and survived revealed in Netflix's doc how their lives have changed since the tragedy. "For the first time in my life, I felt like true depression and true anxiety," Arturo continued. "Because I didn't think I was more deserving of other people to make it out. Why me and why not them?" 'Mass Casualty Incident' at Astroworld Festival: Travis Scott, Kylie Jenner and More Pay Tribute Meanwhile, Ayden, who was at Astroworld with Brianna Rodriguez before she died, admitted he struggled in the aftermath, saying, "I was 18 years old when it happened. My life has completely changed from that moment. Just the fact that Bri passed away put me down a dark depression. If I was gonna go to school, it was because I was gonna play basketball. I just gave up on it all." He continued: "I think about that day all the time. What I did too slow, or what I wish I did first, when I relive that moment, trying to change my actions and hoping for a different outcome. But it's always the same outcome. It could have been preventable." Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy featured an interview with crowd safety expert Scott Davidson, who detailed his investigation into the incident. "In the months afterwards, [event promoter] Live Nation got in touch with me. I knew the venue. I knew the event. I knew the politics and I could quickly make sense of what happened," he explained. "I was given text messages between executives to emails, documentation and site plans. There were thousands of photographs and videos — all of which have been made public." Davidson referred to the Astroworld tragedy as "not an accident," adding, "It was an inevitability due to the lack of foresight and the abandonment of basic safety protocols. Live Nation reportedly sold 50,000 tickets to the festival. But these tickets were sold before they'd worked out how this number would be able to safely view Travis's set. Following the tragedy, experts for the plaintiffs examined the evidence and believed that they were viewing capacity for just 35,000 concertgoers at the main stage. Which would mean they planned for many thousands more people than could safely view Travis's performance." The expert also pointed out how earlier in the day, a rush of people without tickets stormed the event. "The moment they lost control of the gates, there's now an unknown number of people at the festival. In the days leading up to the event, we can actually see text messages between key members of this management team expressing 50,000 people are not going to fit here. They knew this was going to be an issue," Davidson added. "So not only was Travis's stage in danger of being over capacity, this poorly designed site led to people approaching the stage from the side and getting trapped in an area where they were crushed, unable to breathe." He continued: "All 10 fatalities were caused by compression asphyxiation in this area. Further text messages sent just minutes before Travis got on stage show that Live Nation was aware of the tragedy that was unfolding. But they failed to act before it was too late. In all the failures of Astroworld, a common denominator is a failure to speak truth to power. There were many missed opportunities to speak up. Somebody to raise their hand and say, 'Time out. This doesn't make sense. We're gonna hurt somebody.'" Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths of All Time Live Nation released a statement featured in the documentary, which read, "The sellable capacity for the venue was set by SMG Global and approved by the Houston Fire Department (HFD) before tickets went on sale. The number of tickets sold, and attendees on site did not exceed the approved capacity. HFD, SMG Global, and the Houston Police Department (HPD) were aware of the event plans, which were developed in line with safety codes. The Festival Safety & Risk Director and HPD representatives agreed to and executed an early show stop." The documentary noted that in 2023 a Houston grand jury found that no individual was criminally responsible for the deaths at Astroworld. All 10 wrongful death lawsuits against Live Nation, Scott and other defendants were settled out of court for undisclosed monetary amounts. Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy also highlighted how Scott broke records in 2024 with "the highest-selling solo rap concert tour of all time, generating over $210 million. It was produced by Live Nation." Scott did not speak out in the doc or provide a statement, but he has publicly reflected on the tragedy previously. 'That moment for families, for the city, you know, it was devastating," Scott shared in an interview for GQ's 28th annual Men of the Year issue in November 2023. 'Making music, you think about things that go on in life and things that happen in your life, and you dial in on things.' Scott recalled feeling "overly devastated" in the aftermath. 'I always think about it. Those fans were like my family. You know, I love my fans to the utmost ... You just feel for those people. And their families," he said about how he still has "pain too" about the lives lost. 'I want to find change in the things, to make things better, make myself better." He concluded: "I have concerns, things that I think about, and the things I see on a day-to-day basis I think about them. And every day I want to find change in the things, to make things better, make myself better. It's just like: I go through things like everyone else. And even recently through something I never could imagine." Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy is streaming on Netflix.
Sky News
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
His only 'crime' is being Venezuelan and having tattoos, says brother of man 'thrown to the lions' in El Salvador jail
Until five weeks ago, Arturo Suarez was a professional singer, performing in the United States as he waited for his asylum claim to be processed. Originally from Venezuela, he had entered the US through proper, legal channels. But he is now imprisoned in a notorious jail in El Salvador, sent there by the Trump administration, despite seemingly never having faced trial or committed any crime. The White House claims he is a gang member but has not provided evidence to support this allegation. His brother, Nelson Suarez, told Sky News he believes his brother's only "crime" is being Venezuelan and having tattoos. "He is not a gang member," Nelson says, adamantly, "I've come to the conclusion that it has to be because of the tattoos. If you don't have a criminal record, you haven't committed any crime in the United States, what other reason could there be? Because you're Venezuelan?" Arturo, 34, was recording a music video inside a house in March when he was arrested by immigration agents. He was first taken to a deportation centre in El Paso, Texas, and then, it appears, put on to a military flight to El Salvador. His family have not heard from him since. Lawyers and immigrant rights groups have been unable to make contact with any of the more than 200 Venezuelan men sent to the CECOT prison, which holds members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs. Tattoo clue to Arturo Suarez's whereabouts Nelson learned his brother is - most likely - in CECOT only because of a photograph he spotted on a news website of a group of inmates, with their hands and feet cuffed, heads shaved and bodies shackled together. "You can see the hummingbird tattoo on his neck," Nelson says, pointing to the picture. He says Arturo wanted a hummingbird in memory of their late mother. Arturo has 33 tattoos in total, including a piano, poems and verses from the Bible. It could be that one, or more, of those tattoos landed him at the centre of President Trump's anti-immigration showpiece. Nelson shows me documents which indicate that Arturo did not have a criminal record in Venezuela, Chile, Colombia or the United States, the four countries he has lived in. Sky News contacted the White House, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for a response to Arturo's case but have not heard back. In March, Donald Trump signed the Alien Enemies Act, a law from 1798 which has been invoked just three times before, in wartime. It allows the president to detain and deport immigrants living legally in the US if they are from countries deemed "enemies" of the government. In this instance, Mr Trump claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had "infiltrated the United States" and was "conducting irregular warfare". Gang symbol tattoos Immigration officials have centred on certain tattoos being gang symbols. Immigration officers were provided with a document called the "Alien Enemy Validation Guide", according to a court filing from the American Civil Liberties Union. The document provides a point-based system to determine if an immigrant in custody "may be validated" as a gang member. Migrants who score six points and higher may be designated as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, according to the document. Tattoos which fall under a "symbolism" category score four points and social media posts "displaying" gang symbols are two points. Tattoos considered suspicious, according to the document, include crowns, stars and the Michael Jordan Jumpman logo. Jerce Reyes Barrios's story Another of the men sent to CECOT prison is 36-year-old Jerce Reyes Barrios, who fled Venezuela last year after marching in anti-government protests. He is a former footballer and football coach. His lawyer, Linette Tobin, told Sky News that Reyes Barrios entered the US legally after waiting in Mexico for four months for an immigration appointment and then presenting himself at the border. She says he was detained in a maximum security prison in the US while awaiting his asylum appointment. But before that appointment happened, he was flown to the El Salvador prison. Ms Tobin says the DHS deported Reyes Barrios because they designated him a Tren De Aragua gang member based on two pieces of evidence. The first, she says, is a tattoo of the Real Madrid football team logo surrounded by rosary beads. She has since obtained a declaration from the tattoo artist stating that Reyes Barrios just wanted an image which depicted his favourite team. The second piece of evidence, she says, is a photograph, which she shows me, of Reyes Barrios in a hot tub with friends when he was a college student 13 years ago. He is making a gesture which could be interpreted as "rock and roll", but which she says has been interpreted as a gang symbol. Distraught family in despair Reyes Barrios has no criminal record in his home country. "I've never known anything like this," Ms Tobin says. "My client was deported to a third country and we have no way of getting in touch with him. His family are distraught and in despair, they cry a lot, not knowing what is going on with him. We want him returned to the United States to have a hearing and due process." Ms Tobin says she and other lawyers representing men sent to the El Salvador prison are trying to establish a UN working group on enforced disappearances to do a wellness check on them because the prison is completely "incommunicado". 1:10 Sky News contacted the DHS for comment about Reyes Barrios's case but did not receive a response. The DHS previously issued a statement declaring that "DHS intelligence assessments go well beyond just gang-affiliated tattoos. This man's own social media indicates he is a member of Tren de Aragua". Reyes Barrios has an immigration hearing scheduled for 17 April, Ms Tobin says, which the Trump administration is trying to dismiss on the grounds that he is not in the US anymore. In the meantime, children he used to coach football for in his hometown of Machiques in Venezuela have been holding a prayer vigil for him and calling for his release. The secretary of the DHS, Kristi Noem, visited CECOT last month and posed for photos standing in front of inmates behind bars. "Do not come to our country illegally," she said, "you will be removed, and you will be prosecuted." Donald Trump had promised during his election campaign to clamp down on immigration, railing against undocumented immigrants and claiming immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country". I ask Arturo Suarez's brother, Nelson, how he felt watching Ms Noem posing in the prison, knowing that his brother might be close by. "I feel bad," he says, "I feel horrible, because in those images we only see criminals. With my brother, I feel it is more a political issue. They needed numbers, they said, these are the numbers, and now, let's throw them to the lions." Kilmar Abrego Garcia's story The Trump administration has admitted that at least one man sent to the El Salvador jail was sent by "administrative error". Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was living in Maryland, was sent to CECOT despite a judge's earlier ruling in 2019 that granted him legal protection to stay in the US. The White House has alleged Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, but his lawyers argued there is no evidence to prove this. A federal judge has ordered Garcia must be returned to the US by Monday 7 April. In a post on X, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller referred to the judge as a "Marxist", who "now thinks she's president of El Salvador". White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "We suggest the judge contact President Bukele because we are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador."
Sky News
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
My brother was 'thrown to the lions' in El Salvador jail by Trump administration
Until five weeks ago, Arturo Suarez was a professional singer, performing in the United States as he waited for his asylum claim to be processed. Originally from Venezuela, he had entered the US through proper, legal channels. But he is now imprisoned in a notorious jail in El Salvador, sent there by the Trump administration, despite seemingly never having faced trial or committed any crime. The White House claims he is a gang member but has not provided evidence to support this allegation. His brother, Nelson Suarez, told Sky News he believes his brother's only "crime" is being Venezuelan and having tattoos. "He is not a gang member," Nelson says, adamantly, "I've come to the conclusion that it has to be because of the tattoos. If you don't have a criminal record, you haven't committed any crime in the United States, what other reason could there be? Because you're Venezuelan?" Arturo, 34, was recording a music video inside a house in March when he was arrested by immigration agents. He was first taken to a deportation centre in El Paso, Texas, and then, it appears, put on to a military flight to El Salvador. His family have not heard from him since. Lawyers and immigrant rights groups have been unable to make contact with any of the more than 200 Venezuelan men sent to the CECOT prison, which holds members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs. Tattoo clue to Arturo Suarez's whereabouts Nelson learned his brother is - most likely - in CECOT only because of a photograph he spotted on a news website of a group of inmates, with their hands and feet cuffed, heads shaved and bodies shackled together. "You can see the hummingbird tattoo on his neck," Nelson says, pointing to the picture. He says Arturo wanted a hummingbird in memory of their late mother. Arturo has 33 tattoos in total, including a piano, poems and verses from the Bible. It could be that one, or more, of those tattoos landed him at the centre of President Trump's anti-immigration showpiece. Nelson shows me documents which indicate that Arturo did not have a criminal record in Venezuela, Chile, Colombia or the United States, the four countries he has lived in. Sky News contacted the White House, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for a response to Arturo's case but have not heard back. In March, Donald Trump signed the Alien Enemies Act, a law from 1798 which has been invoked just three times before, in wartime. It allows the president to detain and deport immigrants living legally in the US if they are from countries deemed "enemies" of the government. In this instance, Mr Trump claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had "infiltrated the United States" and was "conducting irregular warfare". Gang symbol tattoos Immigration officials have centred on certain tattoos being gang symbols. Immigration officers were provided with a document called the "Alien Enemy Validation Guide", according to a court filing from the American Civil Liberties Union. The document provides a point-based system to determine if an immigrant in custody "may be validated" as a gang member. Migrants who score six points and higher may be designated as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, according to the document. Tattoos which fall under a "symbolism" category score four points and social media posts "displaying" gang symbols are two points. Tattoos considered suspicious, according to the document, include crowns, stars and the Michael Jordan Jumpman logo. Jerce Reyes Barrios's story Another of the men sent to CECOT prison is 36-year-old Jerce Reyes Barrios, who fled Venezuela last year after marching in anti-government protests. He is a former footballer and football coach. His lawyer, Linette Tobin, told Sky News that Reyes Barrios entered the US legally after waiting in Mexico for four months for an immigration appointment and then presenting himself at the border. She says he was detained in a maximum security prison in the US while awaiting his asylum appointment. But before that appointment happened, he was flown to the El Salvador prison. Ms Tobin says the DHS deported Reyes Barrios because they designated him a Tren De Aragua gang member based on two pieces of evidence. The first, she says, is a tattoo of the Real Madrid football team logo surrounded by rosary beads. She has since obtained a declaration from the tattoo artist stating that Reyes Barrios just wanted an image which depicted his favourite team. The second piece of evidence, she says, is a photograph, which she shows me, of Reyes Barrios in a hot tub with friends when he was a college student 13 years ago. He is making a gesture which could be interpreted as "rock and roll", but which she says has been interpreted as a gang symbol. Distraught family in despair Reyes Barrios has no criminal record in his home country. "I've never known anything like this," Ms Tobin says. "My client was deported to a third country and we have no way of getting in touch with him. His family are distraught and in despair, they cry a lot, not knowing what is going on with him. We want him returned to the United States to have a hearing and due process." Ms Tobin says she and other lawyers representing men sent to the El Salvador prison are trying to establish a UN working group on enforced disappearances to do a wellness check on them because the prison is completely "incommunicado". 1:10 Sky News contacted the DHS for comment about Reyes Barrios's case but did not receive a response. The DHS previously issued a statement declaring that "DHS intelligence assessments go well beyond just gang-affiliated tattoos. This man's own social media indicates he is a member of Tren de Aragua". Reyes Barrios has an immigration hearing scheduled for 17 April, Ms Tobin says, which the Trump administration is trying to dismiss on the grounds that he is not in the US anymore. In the meantime, children he used to coach football for in his hometown of Machiques in Venezuela have been holding a prayer vigil for him and calling for his release. The secretary of the DHS, Kristi Noem, visited CECOT last month and posed for photos standing in front of inmates behind bars. "Do not come to our country illegally," she said, "you will be removed, and you will be prosecuted." Donald Trump had promised during his election campaign to clamp down on immigration, railing against undocumented immigrants and claiming immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country". I ask Arturo Suarez's brother, Nelson, how he felt watching Ms Noem posing in the prison, knowing that his brother might be close by. "I feel bad," he says, "I feel horrible, because in those images we only see criminals. With my brother, I feel it is more a political issue. They needed numbers, they said, these are the numbers, and now, let's throw them to the lions." Kilmar Abrego Garcia's story The Trump administration has admitted that at least one man sent to the El Salvador jail was sent by "administrative error". Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was living in Maryland, was sent to CECOT despite a judge's earlier ruling in 2019 that granted him legal protection to stay in the US. The White House has alleged Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, but his lawyers argued there is no evidence to prove this. A federal judge has ordered Garcia must be returned to the US by Monday 7 April. In a post on X, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller referred to the judge as a "Marxist", who "now thinks she's president of El Salvador".
