U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed Rafael José Quero Silva to Venezuela on August 18 following an immigration judge's order, the agency announced. Quero Silva, a former colonel in Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard, participated in the detention and torture of political dissidents during the Maduro regime.
Prior to entering the United States, Quero Silva commanded the 47th Detachment of the Bolivarian National Guard in Barquisimeto and had direct knowledge of excessive force, detention, and torture by soldiers under his command. Reports indicate that in 2013, Quero Silva directly oversaw the torture of at least 74 peaceful anti-Maduro protesters. While in his custody, these political prisoners were subjected to electric shocks, severe beatings with nightsticks and frozen water bottles, threats of rape, and other physical, psychological, and sexual abuse.
ICE arrested Quero Silva on February 27, 2025, in Miramar after he entered the U.S. on June 20, 2016, at Miami International Airport and failed to depart in accordance with his visa terms. The case involved ICE Miami, Homeland Security Investigations Miami, the FBI, and the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center.
Since 2003, ICE has arrested more than 520 people for human rights-related violations and obtained deportation orders against 1,178 known or suspected human rights violators, according to the agency.