US Fast-Tracks José Serrano Deportation on Aug. 28 Despite Torture Fears
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 16
US Fast-Tracks José Serrano Deportation on Aug. 28 Despite Torture Fears
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 16
Summary
José Serrano, a former Ecuadorean government official, was deported by U.S. authorities last month after they reversed a ruling that had blocked his removal over fears he could be tortured in Ecuador.
Aug. 28 records show ICE put Serrano on a small charter plane to Ecuador, where he is now being held in a maximum-security prison while facing accusations of orchestrating the 2023 assassination of a presidential candidate.
Serrano's lawyers say prison officials stripped him naked and threatened to share video with President Daniel Noboa; Ecuadorean officials deny he was mistreated.
Noboa, a key ally in President Trump's anti-drug trafficking push, appeared to claim credit within 15 minutes of the deportation, posting a photo of Serrano shackled between two ICE agents and writing: "We said it, we did it."