British man's tattoo wrongly linked to Venezuelan gang in US government document

A British man named Pete Belton, who is 44 years old and lives in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, was shocked to discover that his tattoo was mistakenly included in a US government document that identifies members of a notorious Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua. This gang is known for its criminal activities, and Pete has no connection to it whatsoever. He expressed his surprise by saying, 'I'm just an average middle-aged man from Derbyshire. ' Initially, he found the situation to be a bit strange and even funny, but as time went on, he became increasingly worried about the implications it could have for his family vacation to Miami, which he had planned with his wife and daughter for August. He humorously remarked that it might turn into a 'six month all-inclusive holiday to Guantanamo. ' The tattoo in question is a clock face that marks the date and time of his daughter's birth, and it was included in a set of images used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to help identify alleged members of the gang. Other tattoos in the document featured various designs, including stars, crowns, and a logo associated with basketball player Michael Jordan. Pete's concern stems from the fact that the Trump administration has already deported numerous individuals who were incorrectly identified as members of the gang based solely on their tattoos. He is eager to clarify that he is not affiliated with the gang in any way. He stated, 'In my head I'm thinking if I'm working in border force and I saw me walking through I'd think 'hey up we've got one, he's the one in the document. ' To support his claim, Pete has provided multiple images of his tattoo to prove its authenticity and to emphasize that he has no ties to the Venezuelan group. The tattoo image that appeared in the DHS document was of lower quality than an Instagram post shared by a Nottingham-based tattoo artist nearly a decade ago, which also featured Pete's tattoo. This raises questions about how his tattoo ended up in the US documents. The DHS has stated that they are confident in their intelligence and that their assessments go beyond just gang-related tattoos and social media. However, it remains unclear how Pete's tattoo was included in the document, and he is understandably anxious about being associated with the gang. He is worried that if someone in border control sees him, they might mistakenly think he is a gang member. The US government has claimed that they do not deport individuals based solely on their tattoos, but court documents reveal that immigration officials use a points-based system to determine if someone is linked to the Venezuelan gang. This system assigns points for various factors, and having tattoos that indicate loyalty to the gang can contribute significantly to a person's score. Pete is hopeful that the authorities will recognize that he is not a member of the gang and that he can enjoy his family trip without any complications. He concluded by saying, 'Hopefully now they'd realize I'm not a Venezuelan gangster but I've seen crazier things happen in the news recently, so we're just going to wait and see.