"You can't send me back to Venezuela," begs Marco Coello, an alleged torture victim detained Wednesday during an asylum interview in Miami

Marco Coello, a young Venezuelan man who fled political persecution in Venezuela was arrested by U.S. immigration officials when he showed up for an asylum hearing at the offices of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in Miami on Wednesday, according to his lawyer and family members.

"He's being detained," his mother Dorys de Coello confirmed to Univision.

Coello, 21, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents before he was due to begin an interview to assess whether he had a "credible fear" of persecution if he returns to Venezuela, according to his lawyer Elizabeth Blandon.

"You don't know what you have done," Blandon said she told the arresting agents.

When Coello realized what was happening he pleaded with the agents: "You can't send me back to Venezuela."

He broke down in tears, according to Blandon, who tried to reassure him saying; "This is not the same, this is not Venezuela."

ICE confirmed that Coello had been detained citing two misdemeanor criminal convictions. Coello "did not depart the country in accordance with his visa. As a result, he violated the terms of his nonimmigrant status in the United States," ICE said in an emailed statement.

The statement added; "ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States.”

It was not immediately clear what the misdemeanors were or if Coello failed to file his asylum request before his tourist visa had expired.

However, his political persecution in Venezuela appears to be well documented. Forensic reports at the time of his detention in Venezuela showed that the teenager suffered post-traumatic stress after being tortured by police.

Coello's case became emblematic of allegations of torture of detainees by Venezuelan police during protests on Feb 12 2014 against the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

He was arrested by police and held in prison where he was allegedly tortured by agents seeking to get him to implicate opposition leader Leopoldo López in violence that took place during the demonstrations. He alleged that he was beaten by plain clothes agents and told to sign a document that he was protesting in the streets on the orders of López, the country's most vocal opposition leader, who was later arrested and accused of fomenting violence.

López remains in jail.

Coello says that during his detention he had a gun pointed at his head, was given electric shocks and had a lighter held close after being soaked in gasoline.

He was released in July 2014 and fled to Miami Sept 3, 2015 accompanied by his father, where he applied for political asylum.

His case has been highlighted by international groups along with five others arrested the same day as Coello accused of violent incidents, inclusing the burning of several official vehicles. A report by Human Rights Watch about the Feb 12, 2014 detentions found "a pattern of serious abuse" including torture and denial of due process.

"Coello said he had been running away from where violent confrontations had erupted between protesters and security forces when a teargas canister hit his leg. He fell to the street and was engulfed in teargas," according to the report.

"As he was struggling to breathe, a group of about eight men in plainclothes assaulted him, beating him as he lay on the ground. They then grabbed him and took him to the nearby CICPC [police] station, where three police officers took him to a bathroom, pointed a gun at his head, and doused his shirt and body with gasoline."

It went on: "They wrapped a thin mat around his body, tied it with tape, and approximately 10 officers kicked him and beat him with sticks, a golf club, and a fire extinguisher on his ribs and upper body. When they took off the mat, they gave him three electric shocks on his chest, he said. Throughout the whole time, the police officers told him he should confess he had burned official vehicles that day. Coello said he did not confess because he had not done it."

Coello's lawyers said Wednesday's appointment came after they sent letters seeking to speed up the case and he was summoned to a meeting at the downtown Miami USCIS office.

His lawyers prepared him for the interview and accompanied him to the meeting where he was arrested by ICE agents, the lawyers said.

U.S. asylum can be requested by any person who has been persecuted for reasons of "race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion," according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations.

The process can take months or year. After an I-589 asylum application has been submitted an interview is held to establish if there is a "credible fear" of persecutoin if the person returns to his or her home country.

Additional reporting by David Adams