Venezuelan woman with TPS arrested, deported to El Salvador instead of Venezuela
Mar 24, 2025·Location: St. George, UT
Country of origin: Venezuela

Franyeli Carolina Zambrano Manrique, 30, a Venezuelan with Temporary Protected Status, was arrested on February 8, 2025 during a traffic stop in Utah with her husband. Despite having valid TPS status, ICE officers accused them both of gang membership based on tattoos and refused to accept their denials. She was transferred to Henderson detention center in Nevada, then deported on March 15, 2025 despite a federal judge's order halting deportations. She was told she was being flown to Venezuela but was instead taken to El Salvador, where she was kept on the plane and sent back to the United States the same day. She was later deported to Venezuela on April 5, 2025, but her husband remains detained at CECOT in El Salvador.
Timeline
Sources
- Venezuelans could have returned with women El Salvador refused: lawyers
- Venezuelans deported last week included 8 women who were returned to US, court filings say
- The ordeal of eight Venezuelan women deported to El Salvador and rejected by Bukele’s government
english.elpais.com·May 14, 2025·archived copy
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