‘Bogus’ Interpol red notice kept mum from El Salvador in US immigration detention for six years
A woman spent six years languishing in US immigration detention due to a “bogus” Interpol red notice stemming from a harassment campaign by a police officer in El Salvador.
Jessica Barahona Martinez, who is originally from the Central American country, told Sky News and its US partner NBC News about her ordeal in her first sit-down interview since her release.
During her time in detention, her sister died of cancer and she rarely saw her children after being moved to a facility more than 1,000 miles away from her family.
Ms Barahona Martinez’s lawyer Sandra Grossman describes it as one of the worst cases she had come across.
“We have been fighting bogus red notices for over 15 years,” she said.
“And I can tell you that this is one of the most egregious examples of Interpol abuse that we’ve ever seen.”
The US is considered a leader in tackling Interpol abuse – in which authoritarian states use the notice system to target dissidents abroad, or when individuals use it in the service of private disputes.
While the US has specific legislation to prevent Interpol from being used for transnational repression, immigration authorities are ignoring guidance not to arrest people solely based on a red notice.
Since her release, Ms Barahona Martinez has been trying to repair her mental health
Ms Barahona Martinez said her ordeal began when a local police officer in her hometown in El Salvador began a campaign of harassment, targeting her due to her sexuality.
She said he initially accused her of being interested in his girlfriend, and went on to sexually harass and assault her in the town’s market.
“He talked to me like I was nothing, like I was trash,” she said. “He called me a waste of a woman.”
Dangerous allegation
Eventually, the police officer accused Ms Barahona Martinez of extortion, for the amount of roughly $30, and said she was part of a gang – which is considered an extremely serious allegation in El Salvador.
The country has a long history of gang violence, and at one point had the highest murder rate in the world.
The subsequent crackdown has been effective but brutal; human rights groups say it has included torture and arbitrary detention, while police have bragged about being able to “arrest anyone we want”.
Jessica Barahona Martinez reunited with her family. Pic: ACLU
Ms Barahona Martinez spent nine months detained in El Salvador waiting for a court date, until her case was dismissed for lack of evidence in March 2015.
Upon her release, the harassment resumed. She said the same car would drive by her house each night.
Ms Barahona Martinez has three children from a previous relationship, and says she started receiving threatening phone calls from a person who listed her children’s names and where they went to school.
In May 2016, a year after her case was dismissed in El Salvador, Ms Barahona Martinez fled to the US. She submitted an official asylum application in April 2017.
However, she was unaware that police in El Salvador had attempted to re-open her case in the meantime.
She did not show up for a subsequent court appearance, and so local police circulated a red notice via Interpol.
Immigration officers in the US are not supposed to detain somebody purely on the basis of a red notice.
But when Ms Barahona Martinez attended her monthly check-in with immigration authorities on a Friday in June, she was told to head home and pack her bags, say goodbye to her children and report to a detention centre the following Monday morning.
Two asylum bids
Ms Barahona Martinez first learned she had been detained due to a red notice when she was denied bail a month later.
She would spend six years in detention.
Twice she was granted asylum. Two separate immigration judges found her claims of persecution in El Salvador credible – in 2018 and again in 2019.
However, both times an immigration board overturned the asylum decision, citing the existence of the red notice.
Authorities claimed the red notice meant that Ms Barahona Martinez was banned from refugee status under a rule called the mandatory non-political crime bar, which is designed to prevent people who have committed crimes abroad from seeking asylum after they have gone on the run.
But for Ms Barahona Martinez, the red notice resulted from – and was evidence of – the very persecution she was escaping.
Nevertheless, she was detained for the entirety of her asylum proceedings.
Ms Grossman said this was because of a disconnect between US policy and practice when it comes to Interpol notices.
‘Fundamental misunderstanding’
Although the US government guidelines state that a red notice should not automatically lead to detention, in practice that is what happens in the immigration system.
“I think this might hopefully be changing in the United States, but it appears in most of these cases that the red notice is sort of looked at as evidence of criminality and often as conclusive evidence of criminality,” Ms Grossman said.
“There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding in the United States about what a red notice is and is not.”
Ms Grossman believes that if Interpol was more transparent about the ways in which red notices can go wrong, both officials and victims of Interpol abuse would be better equipped to respond.
“It would be really helpful for cases where there’s bogus red notices involved for Interpol to be much more open about the fact that this happens,” she said.
Ms Barahona Martinez’s case came to light after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) met with her on one of their regular tours of detention centres in early 2023.
They then turned to Ms Grossman for specialist help.
When she petitioned Interpol’s review body she received an unusually swift reply telling her the red notice had been deleted.
From shock to panic
Still, Ms Barahona Martinez remained in detention until September last year, when she was released without warning after several interview requests by Sky News and the filing of a habeas petition by the ACLU, which would have seen her case brought before a higher judge.
Read more:
El Salvador opens 40,000-inmate prison in ‘war against gangs’
10,000 police and soldiers to seal off entire El Salvador town
On 28 September, as Ms Barahona Martinez was working in the kitchen at a Louisiana detention centre, an immigration official sought her out to inform her she was being released the following day.
She told Sky News she was so shocked that she told the officer there must have been a mistake.
However, her shock soon turned to panic. After six years inside, she was not sure how she would cope with the outside world or even how to get back to her family.
Jessica Barahona Martinez with her family
“What was I going to find outside? I spoke to my mother, I said to her ‘Mum, what if I get lost?’ It was something that I honestly wasn’t prepared for at the time. And she told me, ‘You’re not going to get lost. We will find you’.”
The day after Ms Barahona was released, US authorities published updated guidance, reiterating that immigration officers shouldn’t detain people solely on the basis of a red notice.
‘Very robust system’
In an earlier episode of Sky News’ Dirty Work podcast, Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock defended the red notice system.
He said: “I think it is a very robust system, and it is a very successful system first and foremost because it helps almost every day around the world to catch dangerous fugitives, murderers, rapists, those who are exploiting children, drug traffickers.”
When asked about people ending up with a notice that should not have been issued, he said: “[It is] a small number of cases, but of course, very often significant cases that end up in the media and where we say, yes, this notice should not have been published.
“Every one of those cases is a case too many because we know the consequences this might have,” he said.
A spokesperson for the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) said: “Regardless of nationality, ICE makes custody determinations on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with US law and US department of homeland security policy, considering the circumstances of each case.”
Donald Trump has announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK – as he unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.
Speaking at a White House event entitled “Make America Wealthy Again”, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.
“This is Liberation Day,” he told a cheering audience of supporters, while hitting out at foreign “cheaters”.
Follow live: Trump tariffs latest
He claimed “trillions” of dollars from the “reciprocal” levies he was imposing on others’ trade barriers would provide relief for the US taxpayer and restore US jobs and factories.
Mr Trump said the US has been “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.
Pic: AP
His first tariff announcement was a 25% duty on all car imports from midnight – 5am on Thursday, UK time.
Mr Trump confirmed the European Union would face a 20% reciprocal tariff on all other imports. China’s rate was set at 34%.
The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bows over the country’s 20% VAT rate, though the president’s board suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations.
It was also confirmed that further US tariffs were planned on some individual sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical mineral imports.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump’s tariffs explained
The ramping up of duties promises to be painful for the global economy. Tariffs on steel and aluminium are already in effect.
The UK government signalled there would be no immediate retaliation.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers. That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.
“The US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today.
“We have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.
“Nobody wants a trade war and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Who showed up for Trump’s tariff address?
The EU has pledged to retaliate, which is a problem for Northern Ireland.
Should that scenario play out, the region faces the prospect of rising prices because all its imports are tied to EU rules under post-Brexit trading arrangements.
It means US goods shipped to Northern Ireland would be subject to the EU’s reprisals.
The impact of a trade war would be expected to be widely negative, with tit-for-tat tariffs risking job losses, a ramping up of prices and cooling of global trade.
Research for the Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested more than 25,000 direct jobs in the UK car manufacturing industry alone could be at risk from the tariffs on car exports to the US.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had said the tariff costs could not be absorbed by manufacturers and may lead to a review of output.
The tariffs now on UK exports pose a big risk to growth and the so-called headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to restore to the public finances at the spring statement, risking further spending cuts or tax rises ahead to meet her fiscal rules.
Read more:
What do Trump’s tariffs mean for the UK?
The rewards and risks for US as trade war intensifies
A member of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), David Miles, told MPs on Tuesday that US tariffs at 20% or 25% maintained on the UK for five years would “knock out all the headroom the government currently has”.
But he added that a “very limited tariff war” that the UK stays out of could be “mildly positive”.
He said: “There’s a bit of trade that will get diverted to the UK, and some of the exports from China, for example, that would have gone to the US, they’ll be looking for a home for them in the rest of the world.
“And stuff would be available in the UK a bit cheaper than otherwise would have been. So there is one, not central scenario at all, which is very, very mildly potentially positive to the UK. All the other ones which involve the UK facing tariffs are negative, and they’re negative to very different extents.”
Actors, directors and celebrity friends have paid tribute to Val Kilmer, after he died aged 65.
The California-born star of Top Gun, Batman and Heat died of pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, his daughter Mercedes told the Associated Press.
She said Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered.
Tributes flooded in after reports broke of the actor’s death, with No Country For Old Men star Josh Brolin among the first to share their memories.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Watch: Val Kilmer in his most iconic roles
He wrote on Instagram: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those.
“I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”
Kyle Maclachlan, who co-starred with Kilmer in the 1991 biopic The Doors, wrote on social media: “You’ll always be my Jim. See you on the other side my friend.”
Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in 1995’s Heat, also paid tribute in a statement, saying: “I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.
“After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”
Heat co-star Danny Trejo also called Kilmer “a great actor, a wonderful person, and a dear friend of mine” on Instagram.
Cher, who once dated the actor, said on X that “U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND… BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness”.
Lifelong friend and director of Twixt, Francis Ford Coppola said: “Val Kilmer was the most talented actor when in his High School, and that talent only grew greater throughout his life.
“He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know – I will always remember him.”
The Top Gun account on X also said it was remembering Kilmer, who starred as Iceman in both the 1986 original and 2022 sequel, and “whose indelible cinematic mark spanned genres and generations”.
Nicolas Cage added that “I always liked Val and am sad to hear of his passing”.
“I thought he was a genius actor,” he said. “I enjoyed working with him on Bad Lieutenant and I admired his commitment and sense of humor.
“He should have won the Oscar for The Doors.”
World leaders have begun reacting after Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs across the world.
Mr Tump announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK.
He said he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the US and higher duties on some of the country’s biggest trading partners.
Speaking at a White House event entitled ‘Make America Wealthy Again’, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders, hitting at foreign “cheaters”.
These are some of the world leaders’ reactions.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump’s tariffs explained
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin has said there is “no justification” for US tariffs.
“I deeply regret the US decision to impose 20% tariffs on imports from across the European Union,” the taoiseach added.
“We see no justification for this. More than €4.2bn worth of goods and services are traded between the EU and the US daily.
“Disrupting this deeply integrated relationship benefits no one. Tariffs drive inflation, hurt people on both sides of the Atlantic, and put jobs at risk.”
Read more:
Trump’s tariffs will have consequences – Ed Conway
UK reacts to Trump’s tariffs
Donald Trump holding the signed executive order. Pic: Reuters
Manfred Weber, the president of the largest party in the European Parliament, the EPP, said: “To our American friends, today isn’t liberation day – it’s resentment day. Donald Trump’s tariffs don’t defend fair trade; they attack it out of fear and hurt both sides of the Atlantic.
“Europe stands united, ready to defend its interests, and open to fair, firm talks.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country would fight tariffs with countermeasures.
“It’s essential to act with purpose and with force, and that’s what we will do,” he told reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss Canada’s response.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “It is the American people who will pay the biggest price for these unjustified tariffs.
“This is why our government will not be seeking to impose reciprocal tariffs. We will not join a race to the bottom that leads to higher prices and slower growth.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, seen as close ally of the US president, called the tariffs “wrong” and said they would not benefit the United States.
“We will do everything we can to work towards an agreement with the United States, with the goal of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favour of other global players,” she said.
The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowed to protect the country’s companies and workers and to “continue to be committed to an open world.”
His Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, said: “We don’t want growing trade barriers.
“We don’t want a trade war.
“We want to find our way back to a path of trade and cooperation together with the US, so that people in our countries can enjoy a better life.”
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports12 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway