Winooski superintendent navigates ‘a whole new territory of terror’ after being detained, interrogated in Texas

Wilmer Chavarria, a U.S. citizen, said it was a “surreal” and “dehumanizing” experience that involved being separated from his spouse, with multiple federal officials aggressively questioning him in windowless rooms without clocks.

by Auditi Guha
July 23, 2025, 10:17 am

Updated at 5:15 p.m.

WILLISTON — Wilmer Chavarria and his spouse flew out of Managua, Nicaragua, on a direct flight to Houston on Monday, expecting to reach Burlington that night. Instead, he experienced an “extreme verbal and psychological ordeal” at the airport in Texas.

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What followed was a “surreal” and “dehumanizing” experience, first reported by Seven Days, that involved him being separated from his spouse, with multiple officials, many in plain clothes, interrogating him in windowless rooms without clocks.

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Chavarria said he agreed to share the equipment — which they took — but declined to give them consent to access confidential school district records, barring a court order or legal counsel.

He said he repeatedly told officials he is a school superintendent and a public servant, so he is bound by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. They did not seem to understand or hear him, he said.

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