MIAMI — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that it removed Rafael José Quero Silva to Venezuela on Aug. 18 after a Department of Justice immigration judge issued a final order of removal. According to U.S. authorities, Quero Silva was identified as a human rights violator for his alleged role in the detention and torture of political dissidents during Nicolás Maduro's regime.

ICE officers arrested Quero Silva on Feb. 27, 2025, in Miramar, Florida. Officials said he entered the United States through Miami International Airport on June 20, 2016, but remained in the country beyond the period authorized under the terms of his admission.

Matthew Elliston, director of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) field office in Miami, said the agency remains committed to ensuring that the United States does not become a refuge for individuals accused of participating in persecution, torture, or other serious human rights abuses. He credited the joint efforts of ICE Miami, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, the FBI Miami Field Office, and the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center for the successful removal.

HSI Miami Special Agent in Charge Jose R. Figueroa said the case reflects the agency's continued commitment to identifying, investigating, and holding accountable individuals accused of serious human rights violations who attempt to seek refuge in the United States. He added that protecting the integrity of the U.S. immigration system remains a top priority.

Before arriving in the United States, Quero Silva served as a colonel in Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard (GNB)and commanded the 47th Detachment in Barquisimeto. According to ICE, he was involved in and aware of the excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, and the torture of anti-government demonstrators carried out by members under his command.

U.S. authorities allege that during the 2013 protests in Venezuela, Quero Silva directly supervised the torture of at least 74 peaceful protesters. Investigators said detainees held by the 47th Detachment were allegedly subjected to electric shocks, severe beatings with batons and frozen water bottles, threats of sexual assault, and other forms of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse.

The investigation was conducted with support from ICE Miami, HSI Miami, and the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, a multi-agency initiative led by HSI that focuses on identifying, locating, investigating, and removing individuals connected to alleged human rights abuses. The center investigates cases involving suspected persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female genital mutilation, and the recruitment or use of child soldiers.

According to ICE, since 2003 the agency has arrested more than 520 individuals for human rights-related offenses under U.S. criminal and immigration laws. During that same period, authorities have obtained removal orders against and deported 1,178 known or suspected human rights violators, while facilitating the voluntary departure of an additional 208 individuals. The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center has also issued more than 80,000 alerts for potential perpetrators of human rights abuses and has prevented more than 415 suspected human rights violators and war crimes suspects from entering the United States.

Federal authorities encourage anyone with information about suspected human rights violators living in the United States to contact law enforcement through the ICE Tip Line or by submitting information through the agency's online reporting system.