CLEVELAND, Ohio — Two asylum seekers previously arrested in Athens County will seek voluntary departure from the United States due to the toll that their ongoing detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcements has taken on them, their attorney told the Independent.
Victor Laverde Laguna and Gregory Javier Laverde Laguna are dual citizens of Colombia and Venezuela, and they arrived in the U.S. legally, seeking asylum. But after they were arrested in Athens County in September, the brothers were transferred into ICE custody the following month.
Gregory Javier Laverde Laguna has Down syndrome. Victor Laverde Laguna told the Independent in a Dec. 18 interview that Gregory Javier Laverde Laguna has faced dire conditions throughout the period of their detention.
The brothers remain in ICE custody despite the fact that the criminal charges against both brothers were dismissed in November. An Athens County judge stated that both brothers remain innocent in regard to those charges.
The brothers’ attorney, Liliana Vasquez, previously told the Independent that it was highly unusual that the brothers were taken into ICE custody during the course of their local criminal proceedings.
Vasquez suggested local law enforcement cooperation with ICE was likely responsible, although the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office previously denied cooperation with ICE and the Athens County Sheriff’s Office previously told the Independent the office does not communicate with ICE.
Vasquez previously said that, had the brothers not ended up in ICE custody prior to the conclusion of their criminal cases, they would likely not have been transferred to ICE in the first place. But after being taken into ICE custody, it is difficult to secure release.
An immigration court judge last month declined to consider a request from the brothers to grant them bond, due to directives by the Trump Administration.
Victor Laverde Laguna has not stopped fighting for his brother throughout their months-long detention, he told the Independent in a Dec. 18 interview.
After their request for bond was denied, Victor at first said he was determined to pursue other paths to freedom and to remain in the U.S. However, after that, “It just seems like everything kind of fell apart,” Vasquez told the Independent.
The brothers will seek departure to Colombia due to the ongoing upheaval in their home country of Venezuela, following the U.S. arrest of President Nicolas Máduro, Vasquez said.
Victor Laverde Laguna previously told the Independent he and his brother were seeking asylum in the U.S. due to fear of retaliation for his outspoken statements against Máduro’s government.
Julio Laverde Belandria, Victor’s son, previously told the Independent that a return to Venezuela would mean “certain death” for the brothers.
Vasquez told the Independent that the U.S. arrest of Máduro did not impact the brothers’ decision to request voluntary departure, rather than continuing to fight to stay in the U.S.
“Nothing else changed,” Vasquez said in regard to conditions in Venezuela following Máduro’s ouster. “It just seems to be a matter that they don’t want to be detained anymore, because of the toll that it’s taking.”
Amid the ongoing upheaval in the region, in which U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened military action against Colombia, Vasquez said she advised Victor, “I don’t know what issues we’re going to be running into in terms of, like, length of time that you’re going to have to be in jail.”
Regardless, that is the path Victor wants to take, Vasquez told the Independent, viewing it as the quickest way to end his and his brother’s detention.
The Independent requested an interview with Victor for this story via Vasquez but was unable to arrange a conversation by press time.
Victor Laverde Laguna and Gregory Javier Laverde Laguna were arrested by Athens County law enforcement in September 2025 as the Major Crimes Unit targeted an alleged extortion scheme.
The brothers have maintained that they responded to a Facebook ad for jobs as couriers, not knowing there was anything illegal about the operation.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the year the brothers were arrested.
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