A tattoo belonging to a man from Derbyshire has appeared in a US government document used to identify members of a notorious Venezuelan gang - despite the man having no connection to the group.
Pete Belton, 44, from Ilkeston says he was shocked to find his forearm featured in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document used to help identify alleged members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), a transnational criminal organisation.
"I'm just an average middle-aged man from Derbyshire," he told BBC Verify.
Mr Belton's tattoo - a clock face with the date and time of his daughter's birth - was included in a set of nine images for "detecting and identifying" TdA members. Other tattoos featured stars, crowns and a Michael Jordan "jumpman" logo.
But reverse image searches show that several of the pictures first appeared on tattoo websites with no obvious links to Venezuela or TdA.
The same image of Mr Belton's tattoo also appeared in a September 2024 report by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) about TdA activity.
It's unclear exactly how Mr Belton's tattoo ended up in the US documents, but he's worried about being linked to the gang.
Mr Belton said it was a "bit strange, bit funny at first" but is now worried the family trip he booked to Miami with his wife and daughter in August might end up "being a six month all-inclusive holiday to Guantanamo".
"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'."
Mr Belton says his family have considered cancelling their trip to the US due to the potential risks, but they are going to monitor how the story develops.
"Hopefully now they'd realise 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."
British man's tattoo wrongly linked to Venezuelan gang in US government document - BBC News
In America having a tattoo of a clock is worse than having a tattoo of a swastika and only one will get you removed from the country.
Last edited by Ryuu96 - on 11 April 2025
