Brazilian authorities have criticized the United States for using handcuffs on a group of deportees flown back to Brazil on Friday. Officials described the act as a serious violation of the rights of Brazilian citizens.
A senior minister in President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration called the incident “blatant disrespect,” according to a report by Chronicles Reporters. The backlash followed an unscheduled landing of the deportation flight in Manaus, a city in the Amazon region, due to technical problems. Federal police were deployed to the scene on orders from Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski.
The flight, which carried 88 Brazilian deportees, 16 U.S. security officers, and eight crew members, was originally set to land in Belo Horizonte, a city in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. Following intervention by Brazilian authorities, the handcuffs were removed from the deportees, the government confirmed.
After being informed of the incident, President Lula instructed that the deportees be flown to their final destination aboard a Brazilian Air Force aircraft. This measure, according to the Justice Ministry, was to ensure their journey ended with “dignity and safety.”
This deportation marks the second instance this year of undocumented migrants being sent back from the U.S. to Brazil. It is also the first such case since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office on Monday. The Justice Ministry and federal police in Brazil provided this information.
The Trump administration has launched an aggressive immigration crackdown, with the president vowing to carry out mass deportations to remove undocumented individuals from the United States. However, the use of handcuffs and similar restraints during deportation flights has drawn sharp criticism in Brazil, igniting widespread debate over the treatment of migrants.
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