Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro announced his regime will turn this year’s May Day rally into a nationwide campaign demanding the return of a two-year-old girl placed in U.S. foster care and the release of 252 Venezuelan nationals tied to a violent foreign terrorist organization. The individuals were deported from the U.S. and transferred to El Salvador due to their affiliation with Tren de Aragua, a gang known for its involvement in murder, human trafficking, and drug crimes.
During a broadcast of his weekly propaganda program With Maduro Plus, Maduro accused the United States of “kidnapping” the child, Maikelys Antonella Espinoza Bernal, and claimed the deported individuals were “kidnapped” as well. He called on the “working class” and military loyalists to march on May 1 in support of what he described as “rescuing” the girl and those detained in El Salvador.
The Venezuelan regime issued an official statement accusing the U.S. of acting without legal authority and compared the deportations to Nazi Germany’s death camps. The statement also claimed the girl’s father had been sent to a “concentration camp” in El Salvador — referring to a high-security prison facility used by President Nayib Bukele to detain violent gang members.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed that both parents of the child were involved with Tren de Aragua. The father, Maiker Espinoza-Escalona, reportedly participated in the gang’s criminal operations, including trafficking and extortion. The mother, Yorely Escarleth Bernal Inciarte, allegedly recruited women into prostitution rings controlled by the cartel. Both were deported after final removal orders were issued by an immigration judge. The child was placed in foster care in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for her protection.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele recently proposed exchanging the 252 detained Venezuelan gang affiliates for 252 political prisoners held in Venezuela, including American, Israeli, Argentine, and Italian nationals. The Maduro regime refused the deal. Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab and Foreign Minister Yvan Gil rejected the offer as “morally inadmissible” and accused El Salvador of “neo-fascism.”
Maduro’s annual May Day celebration serves as a propaganda tool to promote socialist doctrine. Citizens are typically forced to attend under threat of sanctions or loss of employment. This year’s focus on the deported gang members and child protection narrative marks a sharp escalation in Maduro’s anti-American rhetoric.
The Tren de Aragua gang has become a transnational threat, with cells operating throughout Latin America and infiltrating the U.S. through the southern border. Homeland Security has labeled the group a serious danger due to its widespread involvement in violent crime and human exploitation.
