Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) — CSI Aviation, an Albuquerque aviation management company, is facing a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C. The suit accuses the company of participating in an illegal rendition scheme with the Trump administration that allegedly led to Venezuelan migrants being tortured in a South American prison. The lawsuit alleges that in 2025, 230 shackled migrants were loaded onto three planes chartered by one of CSI’s subcontractors. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued an order that same day to halt the planes or turn them around, but the lawsuit claims the Trump administration instructed the flights to proceed. According to federal spending records, in 2025, CSI was awarded $1.3 billion by ICE to facilitate deportation flights.
