{
  "id": 5900518,
  "title": "A cartel tortured Julio: The US denied his family asylum and wants to send them to a third country",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/a-cartel-tortured-julio-the-us-denied-his-family-asylum-and-wants-to",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-06T04:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "El Pais English",
    "slug": "el-pais-english",
    "url": "https://english.elpais.com/usa/2026-09-06/a-cartel-tortured-julio-the-us-denied-his-family-asylum-and-wants-to-send-them-to-a-third-country.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Julio De Ávila Hernández, a young man from Guadalajara, Mexico, was recruited by a drug cartel to deliver packages and was eventually tortured, according to his mother Blanca Hernández. The family sought asylum in the United States in 2024, but immigration authorities planned to deport them to a third country deemed \"safe\" to avoid endangering their lives. The plan to send them to Ecuador, Honduras, or Guatemala triggered an appeal process for the family to remain in the U.S. Julio's mother alleges that he was forced to work for the cartel and was subjected to drug addiction and threats of violence, including the potential death of his family. In April 2017, Julio was found dead in his home with multiple stab wounds, and his sister documented a horrific video showing him being cut off at the wrist and beaten.",
  "summary": "His family’s efforts to remain in the country have run up against Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies",
  "key_points": [
    "Julio De Ávila Hernández tortured by Mexican drug cartel",
    "Family sought US asylum in 2024, facing deportation to Ecuador, Honduras, or Guatemala",
    "Julio's death in 2017, documented in horrific video of torture"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The US plan to deport Julio's family to a third country, such as Ecuador, Honduras, or Guatemala, suggests that their asylum claim is not compelling enough to warrant protection in the US.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}