Federal immigration authorities said Wednesday they have deported to Venezuela a former top Venezuelan military official, Rafael José Quero Silva — a known human rights violator who participated in the detention and torture of political dissidents under the Nicolás Maduro regime.
Quero Silva was returned to Venezuela on Aug. 18 following a Department of Justice immigration judge’s removal order., U.S. officials said.
Federal authorities originally arrested Quero Silva in Miramar on Feb. 27, 2025. Records show he entered the United States at Miami International Airport on June 20, 2016, but overstayed his temporary visa.
Prior to arriving in the U.S., Quero Silva served as a colonel in Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard (GNB), commanding the 47th Detachment in Barquisimeto. In that role, he was involved in and held knowledge of the excessive force, unlawful detention, and torture carried out against anti-Maduro protesters, said U.S. officials.
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Reports indicate that in 2013, he directly oversaw the torture of at least 74 peaceful demonstrators. While held in his unit’s custody, political protesters were subjected to electric shocks, beatings with nightsticks and frozen water bottles, threats of rape, and other physical, psychological, and sexual abuse.
The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald reported that two alleged victims recognized Quero Silva in Miami and reported him to federal authorities. The news outlets revealed that the FBI interviewed approximately 20 victims as part of its investigation, and while living in South Florida, the former military officer had even worked as a television extra portraying a police officer on “My Perfect Family,” a telenovela that aired on Telemundo in 2018.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said they have arrested more than 520 people for human rights-related violations and deported 1,178 known or suspected human rights violators.
ICE officials credited multiple agencies in leading to Quero Silva's arrest and deportation.
“This removal reflects the outstanding work of ICE Miami, HSI Miami, FBI Miami and the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center," said ICE's Enforcement and Removals Operation Miami Field Office Director Matthew Elliston, in a statement.
"We are committed to public safety and national security, and to ensuring the United States does not become a safe haven for individuals who participated in persecution, torture or other serious human rights abuses," Elliston said.
