On Feb. 7, he and other Venezuelan men in ICE detention in El Paso were awakened and told they were going back to Venezuela, Purroy Roldan said. They were transported to Miami and put aboard a military plane – and realized they were actually going to Guantanamo.

The base had been cleared of migrants since Thursday, after the government sent 177 to Venezuela and one back to the United States.

The men told NPR they were kept in the dark about why they were in Guantánamo Bay, and were denied access to an attorney or a phone call with loved ones.