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Fifa flies Portugal’s World Cup team on plane used for ICE deportations

Portugal's and France's men's national soccer teams flew on Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX) aircraft during the World Cup, the same charter company that has operated hundreds of deportation flights for the Trump administration, including one that brought Venezuelans to a Salvadoran mega-prison. A lawsuit now accuses GlobalX and CSI Aviation of human rights abuses for their role in those deportations.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 3 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 9–26, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

The Portugal and France men's national soccer teams used aircraft from Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX) for travel during the World Cup, a charter company that has been central to the Trump administration's deportation campaign, according to reporting by The Guardian. The same plane that flew the Portuguese team to a match was used for removal flights the day before and after, and had earlier transported dozens of Venezuelans to a notorious Salvadoran mega-prison. Separately, a lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington D.C. accuses GlobalX and another aviation company, CSI Aviation, of civil rights violations for their role in those deportations.

Coverage Comparison

The Guardian has reported on the connection between the national teams and GlobalX across multiple articles, detailing flight data, aircraft tail numbers, and the company's contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In the case of the French team, The Guardian reported that the players used GlobalX for at least three domestic flights between their World Cup games and their base camp in Boston. The Portugal team, according to the same outlet, was filmed boarding a GlobalX Airbus with tail number N837VA en route to Dallas on 4 July ahead of a match against Spain. Flight records reviewed by The Guardian showed that same aircraft flew removal-related flights both the day before and after carrying the Portuguese athletes. Ricardo Quaresma of the Portuguese football federation told The Guardian that Fifa organized the 4 July GlobalX flight; Fifa did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The French national team also did not respond to requests for comment. GlobalX did not respond to requests for comment.

Key Claims

The Guardian reported that GlobalX operated more than half of ICE's removal flights in 2024 and 2025. A 2025 investigation by the outlet, based on months of leaked GlobalX data, found that the company moved thousands of detainees domestically and internationally without notice, often shackled and unaware of their destination. The plane used by the French team after a match against Paraguay had flown 44 deportation-related flights in 2025 alone and approximately 950 flights since 2022, according to data provided to The Guardian by ICE Flight Monitor, a group that tracks aviation data. That same aircraft was used on 1 July to transfer detained immigrants from an Arizona detention center to Louisiana. The Guardian also reported that GlobalX has conducted more than 1,580 removal-related flights since May 2023.

Regarding the Portugal team, the same aircraft (N837VA) was one of the planes at the heart of the March 2025 deportation of more than 200 Venezuelans to the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) in El Salvador. The Guardian reported that the deportations were carried out without due process and despite a federal judge ordering the flights to return. A video posted by El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, showed the plane with its tail number visible.

A lawsuit filed this week in federal court in Washington D.C., reported first by The Guardian, accuses CSI Aviation and GlobalX of violating the civil rights of the Venezuelan men who were transported to El Salvador. The suit claims false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and other violations, stating that the companies "went to great lengths" to undertake the "rendition flights" in concert with the US government, in flagrant violation of US and international law. The lawsuit alleges that the companies transported the men despite knowing they would likely be tortured inside Cecot. Anthony Enriquez, vice-president of advocacy and litigation for the Kennedy Human Rights Center, told The Guardian that "many people might not be aware of the degree to which private companies are intertwined with the human rights abuses occurring under the Trump administration."

Perspectives

The material includes viewpoints from the following parties: the plaintiffs (the Venezuelan men suing), the Kennedy Human Rights Center (speaking about the lawsuit), and the Portuguese football federation (which stated that Fifa organized the GlobalX flight). GlobalX and Fifa did not respond to requests for comment, and the French national team also did not respond. The Guardian's reporting attributes the allegations in the lawsuit to the plaintiffs and their attorneys, and presents the flight data as verified by tracking sources.

How this outlet told it

The Guardian — World as of Jul 9, 2026, 9:31 AM UTC

Framing: Exposure of French national team's connection to Trump administration's deportation campaign — Critical

Facts Included:

The French men's national soccer team used a charter airplane company involved in the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign
The company, Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX), operated more than half of ICE's removal flights in 2024 and 2025
The team used GlobalX for at least three domestic flights between their World Cup games and base camp in Boston
The plane used by the French team had flown 44 deportation-related flights this year alone and about 950 flights since 2022

Read the source article →

The Guardian — World as of Jul 17, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC

Framing: Portugal team's use of GlobalX aircraft highlights company's role in deportation campaign — Critical

Facts Included:

The Portugal men's soccer team used a GlobalX aircraft for a World Cup match
The same plane was used for deportation flights, including one that brought dozens of Venezuelans to a Salvadoran mega-prison
The plane had flown removal-related flights both the day before and after flying the Portuguese athletes
GlobalX has conducted more than 1,580 removal-related flights since May 2023

Read the source article →

The Guardian — World as of Jul 26, 2026, 5:31 AM UTC

Framing: Lawsuit filed against US aviation companies for role in deportation flights — Critical

Facts Included:

Venezuelan men are suing US aviation companies CSI Aviation and GlobalX for their role in deportation flights
The lawsuit accuses the companies of violating civil rights, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress
The companies were hired by the US government to conduct deportation flights to El Salvador
The deportees were subjected to torture and brutal conditions in the Salvadoran mega-prison

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimThe French men's national soccer team used a charter airplane company involved in the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 9, 2026, 9:31 AM UTC
ClaimThe company, Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX), operated more than half of ICE's removal flights in 2024 and 2025.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 9, 2026, 9:31 AM UTC
ClaimThe French team used GlobalX for at least three domestic flights between their World Cup games and base camp in Boston.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 9, 2026, 9:31 AM UTC
ClaimThe plane used by the French team had flown 44 deportation-related flights this year alone and about 950 flights since 2022.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 9, 2026, 9:31 AM UTC
ClaimThe Portugal men's soccer team used a GlobalX aircraft for a World Cup match.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 17, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimThe same plane was used for deportation flights, including one that brought dozens of Venezuelans to a Salvadoran mega-prison.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 17, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimThe plane had flown removal-related flights both the day before and after flying the Portuguese athletes.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 17, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimGlobalX has conducted more than 1,580 removal-related flights since May 2023.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 17, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimVenezuelan men are suing US aviation companies CSI Aviation and GlobalX for their role in deportation flights.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 26, 2026, 5:31 AM UTC
ClaimThe lawsuit accuses the companies of violating civil rights, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 26, 2026, 5:31 AM UTC
ClaimThe companies were hired by the US government to conduct deportation flights to El Salvador.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 26, 2026, 5:31 AM UTC
ClaimThe deportees were subjected to torture and brutal conditions in the Salvadoran mega-prison.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 26, 2026, 5:31 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 3 articles consulted: The Guardian — World 12 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14