Martina Navratilova weighs in on Donald Trump freeing "convicted killer" as part of deal with Venezuela

Martina Navratilova recently weighed in on Donald Trump's deal with Venezuela, which led to a Venezuelan-American murder convict living freely in the USA. The convict happens to be a former US marine as well.

In 2024, Dahud Hanid Ortiz was convicted in Venezuela of a triple homicide he carried out in Madrid in a fit of jealousy over his former wife's new partner, Victor Joel Salas, an attorney. He ended up murdering two of Salas' female employees and one of his clients, a taxi driver, in the attorney's office in the Spanish capital.

In July this year, Ortiz was released and allowed to live freely in the USA after Donald Trump agreed to a large scale prisoner-swap deal between the USA, El Salvador and Venezuela. Recently, a video of MSNBC's coverage of Ortiz's case surfaced on X (formerly Twitter). In the video, Trump was heavily criticized by Rachel Maddow for allowing the murder convict to return to the USA and live as a free citizen.

Former World No. 1 women's tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who also happens to be an 18-time singles Major champion, took notice of the video. Condemning Trump over his decision to let Ortiz return to the USA and live freely, Navratilova wrote:

"And trump let this convicted killer free…"

Martina Navratilova's take stemmed from President Trump's stance towards the presence of illegal immigrants in the USA. Trump, along with the Republicans at large, has repeatedly voiced opposition to immigrants citing their criminal offences.

Martina Navratilova delivered "cruelty" judgment after Donald Trump's approval of controversial immigration judges

Earlier this year, news of Donald Trump saying yes to the presence of controversial immigration judges at a migrant detention center in Florida surfaced. The center, named 'Alligator Alcatraz', sparked controversy because of its location in a swampland and vicinity to alligators.

Weighing in on the controversy, an X user lashed out at Trump and Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, for the deployment of National Guard forces to judge the migrants at 'Alligator Alcatraz'. Martina Navratilova happened to take notice of the user's post, and the Czech-American tennis legend subsequently slammed the US President, opining that the country is headed towards "fascism".

"This is cruelty, an abomination and another step toward full on Fascism," Navratilova wrote.

Navratilova is one of the most vocal critics of Trump from the world of tennis, and she regularly uses X to voice her objection to the US President's words and actions.

About the author

Sudipto is a Tennis journalist at Sportskeeda holding a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. He has an experience of 3+ years across the market research, travel, health, lifestyle and sports sectors.

Sudipto has followed Tennis since the early 2000s and stays up-to-date with the sport by following both active and former Tennis players, and seasoned journalists. He also follows ATP and WTA updates, watches documentaries and interviews of professionals, and only reads esteemed publications. He sources all information for his articles only from credible publications stays away from unsubstantiated claims. In just a matter of 3 months, he has gained a readership of almost 2 million at Sportskeeda!

Sudipto admires Rafael Nadal for his fiercely competitive on-court nature and his ability to make memorable comebacks after injury layoffs. The Spaniard may be the GOAT for him, but he also respects the accomplishments of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Beyond Tennis, Sudipto also has an interest in music, football, and video games alongside cooking and traveling.

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Edited by Sudipto Pati