The Brazilian government voiced its outrage on Saturday after a plane arrived with dozens of immigrants deported from the United States in handcuffs, denouncing it as a “flagrant disregard” for their rights. The foreign ministry said it would seek an explanation from Washington regarding the “degrading treatment of passengers on the flight.”
This disagreement arises as Latin America faces the return of US President Donald Trump, whose hard-line anti-immigration agenda promises strict enforcement against irregular migration and mass deportations.
When the aircraft landed in Manaus, a city in northern Brazil, local authorities instructed US officials to “immediately remove the handcuffs,” according to a statement from the justice ministry.
Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski informed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva about “the flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens,” the statement noted.
Brazil’s government plans to demand “explanations from the US government regarding the degrading treatment of passengers” on the flight that took place Friday night, the foreign ministry posted on X. The government said that 88 Brazilians were present on the plane.
The flight was initially scheduled to land in Belo Horizonte, a city in the southeast, but had to divert to Manaus due to a technical problem.
A government source noted that this deportation flight was not directly tied to any immigration orders issued by Trump when he took office on Monday but originated from a bilateral agreement made in 2017.
Brazilian television footage showed some passengers disembarking from the commercial aircraft, their hands handcuffed and ankles shackled.
Trump had promised to intensify efforts against illegal immigration during his election campaign and began his second term with a wave of executive actions aimed at transforming the entry process into the United States.
