For as long as anyone can remember, Andry José Hernández Romero was captivated by the annual Three Kings Day celebrations, which his Venezuelan hometown of Capacho is famous for. Every year, he would join thousands of fellow Christians in the streets, commemorating the wise men’s visit to baby Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

At the tender age of seven, Andry became a Mini King, a member of the town’s youth drama group Los Mini Reyes. Later in life, he paid homage to those festive Epiphany commemorations and his Catholic roots by getting two crown tattoos on his wrists.

Miguel Chacón, the president of Capacho’s Three Kings Day foundation, revealed that the tradition of having crown tattoos among the Capacheros is deeply rooted. Often, people add the names of their parents to the tattoos. Chacón emphasized that these tattoos have been a part of their tradition since 1917, with many people sporting them.

Andry, a 31-year-old makeup artist, hairdresser, and theater enthusiast, crossed the southern border last August to attend a prearranged asylum appointment in San Diego. He informed the authorities that he was fleeing persecution due to his sexual orientation and political beliefs. Just weeks before, the authoritarian leader of Venezuela, Nicholas Maduro, had unleashed a brutal crackdown after accusations of electoral fraud.

However, Andry’s crown tattoos were deemed proof of his alleged membership in Venezuela’s most notorious gang, the Tren de Aragua. As a result, he was considered a “security threat” to the United States. On March 15th, after more than six months in custody, Andry was deported to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador as part of Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

The deportees, including Andry, were paraded before cameras and subjected to humiliation before being taken to their cells. Andry’s mother, Alexis Dolores Romero de Hernández, is devastated and appeals for authorities to release her son, insisting that he is not a gang member.

Outrage has erupted in Táchira, Andry’s home state, with people gathering at the picturesque 19th-century church, San Pedro de la Independencia, to demand his freedom. The community vouching for Andry’s innocence, as he has been a part of the Three Kings Day celebrations his entire life.

In an unexpected twist, Trump supporter and podcaster Joe Rogan expressed his dismay at President Trump’s deportation policies and called for the release of innocent individuals like Andry. Despite the growing pressure, the Trump administration has shown no inclination to reconsider its decision, with Trump praising El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, for accepting “criminals.”

As the controversy spreads, concerns continue to arise about the Trump administration’s method of using a “points system” to classify detainees as gang members based on their tattoos or attire. The puntlessness of such evidence, combined with the Trump administration’s actions, has caused widespread outrage and fear that similar innocent individuals may be unjustly targeted.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/01/its-a-tradition-outrage-in-venezuela-as-us-deports-makeup-artist-for-religious-tattoos