Colombian José Antonio Potes, through a video released by the magazine Semana, denied the statements of his relatives about his alleged detention in one of El Salvador’s mega-prisons.

The mother and her partner told UNO News earlier this week that Potes was mistaken for a gang member due to a tattoo on his chest detailing his late grandmother. “Where’s a ‘Mara 18’ here?” his partner asked.

Colombian allegedly arrested in El Salvador, charged with gang membership by tattoo; reveal local media

In the video, the 27-year-old man appears on a Salvadoran street and says that “my problem was a misunderstanding that I was in jail for gang issues, but I was never there for gang issues, it was for migration issues.”

Potes said he was working without the relevant permit, for which he was detained by immigration authorities.

“Right now I am here on the streets of El Salvador as an ordinary person, a free person who enjoys my freedom and wants to take a new path here in this beautiful country,” he added, saying he misses his family .

The young man accused the media of giving false information about his situation, but it was his own family who denounced this in an interview.

Potes traveled to El Salvador excited about the fight against gangs promoted by President Nayib Bukele.