ICE removed Rafael José Quero Silva, a former colonel in Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard, to Venezuela on Aug. 18, 2026, following a Department of Justice immigration judge's removal order. ICE arrested him in Miramar, Florida in February 2025 after he overstayed his 2016 admission at Miami International Airport. Officials allege he oversaw the detention and torture of at least 74 anti-Maduro protesters in 2013 while commanding a National Guard detachment in Barquisimeto. Quero Silva had a pending U.S. lawsuit over the alleged abuses and had applied for asylum, but was ruled ineligible due to his National Guard service; his removal involved ICE, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI and the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center.