Without water in flight, handcuffed: how Brazilians deported from the US got home

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The Brazil government has expressed outrage and said it would demand an explanation from the Donald Trump administration, after dozens of immigrants who were deported from the United States, arrived by plane in handcuffs. Brazil's Foreign Ministry said the treatment meted to immigrants during the fight home was a "flagrant disregard" of human rights.


The controversy comes as Latin America grapples with US President Donald Trump's hard-line anti-immigration agenda. Since returning to power a week ago, Trump has implemented his crackdown plans on irregular migration and mass deportations, with several planes flying in illegal immigrants to different countries like Guatemala and Brazil. 


When one such plane landed in Brazil's northern city of Manaus, authorities reportedly found that 88 Brazilians who were aboard the aircraft, were in handcuffs. They ordered US officials to "immediately remove the handcuffs," Brazil's justice ministry said in a statement.


Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski told President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of "the flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens," the statement said.


🇧🇷🇺🇸BRAZIL SLAMS HANDCUFFS ON DEPORTEES—TRUMP ADMIN UNMOVED

Brazil called the use of handcuffs on deportees "blatant disrespect," demanding their removal mid-flight during an unexpected landing in Manaus.

The Trump administration, now ramping up mass deportations, sees the… https://t.co/C1DdUEQCIB pic.twitter.com/N0jKCp7yHK
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 26, 2025



Brazil will request "explanations from the US government about the degrading treatment of passengers" on the Friday night flight, the foreign ministry said on X.

The American Nightmare

Among the Brazilians who were on the flight was Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician. Before being deported, he was in detention in the United States for seven months.


"On the plane, they didn't give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn't even let us go to the bathroom (sic)," he told news agency AFP.


"It was very hot, some people fainted," Moura said.


Twenty-one-year-old Luis Antonio Rodrigues Santos, who was also on the flight, recounted the "nightmare" of people with "respiratory problems" during "four hours without air conditioning" due to technical issues on the plane.


"Things have already changed (with Trump), immigrants are treated as criminals," he said.


The flight was originally destined for the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte but encountered a technical issue forcing it to land in Manaus.

Flight Not Part Of Trump's Plan

A government source told AFP the deportation flight was not directly linked to any immigration orders issued by Trump upon taking office but rather stemmed from a 2017 bilateral agreement.


Brazil's Minister of Human Rights, Macae Evaristo, told journalists that "children with autism ... who went through very serious experiences" were also on the flight.


Footage on Brazilian television showed some passengers descending from the civilian aircraft, with their hands handcuffed and their ankles shackled.


"Upon learning of the situation, President Lula ordered that a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) aircraft be mobilized to transport the Brazilians to their final destination, in order to ensure that they could complete their journey with dignity and safety," the justice ministry said.


A Brazilian government source told AFP that the deportees who arrived in Manaus travelled "with their documents", which shows that they agreed to return home.

Trump's Immigration Crackdown

Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration during the election campaign and began his second term with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling entry to the United States. On his first day in office, he signed orders declaring a "national emergency" at the southern US border and announced the deployment of more troops to the area while vowing to deport "criminal aliens."


Several deportation flights since Monday have garnered public and media attention, though such actions were also common under previous US presidents.


In a break with prior practice, however, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft for repatriation flights, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week. The United States also expelled 265 migrants to Guatemala on Friday.


There are an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security statistics.