A prominent former Ecuadorian government official, José Serrano, was deported last month in an unusual move by U.S. immigration authorities, who reversed a prior ruling that had blocked his removal due to torture fears. Serrano, who served as interior minister under former president Rafael Correa, is now held in a maximum-security prison in Ecuador, where his lawyers say he was stripped naked and told video of him would be shared with President Daniel Noboa. Noboa, a key ally in President Trump’s drug trafficking crackdown, boasted on social media just 15 minutes after Serrano was placed on a charter plane to Ecuador, posting a photo of Serrano shackled between ICE agents.

Although Serrano denies involvement in the 2023 assassination of a presidential candidate, he admitted taking over $500,000 in bribes in an unrelated case. After ICE arrested him in Miami last year, Serrano fought deportation, convincing an immigration judge he faced likely torture if returned. However, just one day after being briefed, three Trump-appointed immigration appeals judges overruled that decision—a remarkably fast turnaround in a system where such appeals typically take months.

Serrano’s lawyers say he was monitored by masked guards during a recent video call with his legal team, who described the information he provided as appalling. His deportation occurred too quickly for a federal court challenge, prompting his attorneys to now seek his return via a U.S. federal appeals court.