Nicaraguan former political prisoner deported to Honduras after DUI arrest led to ICE custody
Dec 1, 2025
Country of origin: Nicaragua
Juan Barilla, 35, a peasant farmer from San Miguelito in Nicaragua's Río San Juan department, spent 29 months imprisoned after being kidnapped by paramilitaries in 2020, and was among 222 political prisoners the Ortega-Murillo government expelled to the United States in February 2023, stripping him of his nationality. He resettled in Louisiana with humanitarian parole and a work permit, but was arrested by local police on April 5, 2025 for driving under the influence; even after a judge ordered his release following his 112-day sentence, he was held because of an ICE appointment, and ICE took him into custody in July 2025. Representing himself without a lawyer through several immigration court hearings on his pending asylum case, he said he was never allowed to present notarized evidence of his imprisonment and torture in Nicaragua. In October 2025, prosecutors sought protection for him under the Convention Against Torture with removal to Honduras rather than asylum, and he was deported there on November 29, 2025, describing being shackled at the hands, feet and waist 'like a criminal.' He is now under temporary UNHCR protection in Honduras and says he fears transnational retaliation from the Nicaraguan regime.
Timeline
Sources
Related incidents
- Laotian man released after year in Eswatini prison following U.S. deportationOct 4, 2026 · Matsapha, Eswatini
- Nicaraguan exiles stripped of citizenship detained, face deportation risk in USOct 2, 2026
- Man deported to Mexico despite pending legal immigration caseOct 1, 2026 · Quincy, FL
- Salvadoran man deported without removal order, still detained after return to USOct 1, 2026 · Long Island, NY
- Waltham asylum seeker deported to Uganda despite pending appeal windowSep 30, 2026 · Waltham, MA
- Philadelphia man deported to UK days before scheduled bond hearingSep 30, 2026 · Philadelphia, PA