Brazil's government condemned the administration led by President Donald Trump after dozens of immigrants deported from the United States arrived by plane in handcuffs, calling it “flagrant disregard” for their rights.
The government said Saturday it would demand an “explanation” from the United States.
This comes after President Trump's order closing borders and cracking down on illegal immigrants in the United States goes into effect with mass deportations underway.
Several planes have taken illegal immigrants to different countries such as Guatemala and Brazil.
According to the country's Justice Ministry, authorities ordered U.S. officials to “immediately remove handcuffs” when the plane landed in the northern Brazilian city of Manaus on Saturday.
The statement added that upon learning of the “flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens” by Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva mobilized planes to transport Brazilians to their final destinations.
“Upon learning of the situation, President Lula ordered that a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) plane be mobilized to transport Brazilians to their final destination, in order to ensure that they could complete their trip with dignity and safety,” said the Ministry of Justice. .
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that 88 Brazilians were on board the plane and promised to request “explanations from the US government regarding the degrading treatment of passengers” on the Friday night flight.
Several deported immigrants told the media that they were not given water during the flight and that they were taken with their hands and feet tied, AFP reported. The report also suggests that some of the passengers on the plane even fainted due to the heat.
While Donald Trump's directive to crack down on illegal immigrants is taking effect, the flight was not tied to that but to a 2017 bilateral agreement between the two countries.
A Brazilian government source told AFP that the deportees who arrived in Manaus traveled “with their documents”, showing that they agreed to return home.
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