How a British man’s tattoo wrongly linked him to a dangerous Venezuelan gang

A Derbyshire man was shocked to see an almost decade-old photo of his tattoo in a US government document used to identify gang members.

44-year-old Pete Belton, from Ikeston, noticed a photo of his clock tattoo was included in an official Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document, used by officers to find members of the deadly Tren de Aragua gang.

Donald Trump has accused Tren de Aragua of flooding the USA with drugs and ‘mass illegal migration’ to destabilise US democracy at the behest of the Nicolas Maduro government in Venezuela.

Hundreds of deported ‘members’ have already been sent to El Salvador’s infamous mega-prison.

But Pete, an ‘average middle-aged man from Derbyshire’, said he was shocked to be included in reference photos for border guards – and fears for his upcoming holiday.

His tattoo is simply a clockface, showing the time his daughter was born. But a photo of it was featured alongside other tattoos, including a crown, a gun, Michael Jordan’s silhouette and more.

Pete told the BBC he’s worried about his upcoming trip to Miami in August, joking that it might be a ‘six-month all-inclusive holiday to Guantanamo Bay’.

When approached about the inclusion of Pete’s tattoo, the DHS said they were certain their ‘assessments go well beyond just gang affiliate tattoos and social media.’

‘In my head I’m thinking if I’m working in border force and I saw me walking through I’d think ‘hey up we’ve got one, he’s the one in the document’,’ he said.

Some critics have pointed out that many of the tattoos the US cites as proof of involvement with the gang aren’t always solid proof.

Gang members are known to have identifying tattoos, but many of them are such common designs that it endangers innocent civilians who have the design if they’re singled out because of it.

Hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members are currently in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, which has drawn praise from hardline law-and-order politicians and despair from human rights organisations.

Able to hold 40,000 inmates – nearly half the entire UK prison population – the CECOT is made up of eight sprawling pavilions.

Its cells hold 65 to 70 prisoners each. None receive visits.

There are no programs preparing them to return to society after their sentences, no workshops or educational programs. They will never see daylight again.

The exceptions are occasional motivational talks from prisoners who have gained a level of trust from prison officials.

Prisoners sit in rows in the corridor outside their cells for the talks or are led through exercise regimens under the supervision of guards.

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.