The Government of Brazil denounced this Saturday (01/25/2025) the use of handcuffs by the US authorities against citizens of the Latin American country during a deportation flight.
The Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, ordered the Federal Police to ask the US agents to immediately remove the handcuffs as soon as the plane made a technical stop in the city of Manaus, according to a statement. Additionally, during the stopover, the 88 deportees who were on the plane were accommodated in an area of the airport where they received food, mattresses and were given access to bathrooms with showers.
Lack of fundamental rights
Lewandowski, who informed President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of this situation, called the use of handcuffs a “flagrant lack of respect for the fundamental rights” of these citizens.
“The Ministry of Justice and Public Security emphasizes that the dignity of the human person is a basic principle of the Federal Constitution and one of the pillars of the democratic rule of law,” the statement reads.
Likewise, Lula ordered that an Armed Forces aircraft transport the deportees from Manaus to the city of Belo Horizonte, the final destination, so that they can complete the trip “with dignity and safety.”
This is the first deportation flight since US President Donald Trump took office on Monday, although the trip was already scheduled before the start of his term and occurs as part of a bilateral agreement signed in 2017, according to sources from the Chancellery.
(efe, afp/mn)
