Joe Exotic Says Husband Jorge Was Deported: Where He’s From and Why He Was Behind Bars

For someone sentenced to 21 years behind bars, Joseph Maldonado, better known as Joe Exotic, sure manages to stay connected with the public. Between his updates on Instagram and his official website, JoeExoticOfficial.com, fans can keep up with what’s happening in his life. In February 2025, he called upon President Donald Trump — not for a full pardon (though he’d likely accept one) — but for "a commutation of [his] sentence to time served with no probation," to continue with his charity work.

In October 2024, Joe also revealed that he had filed a marriage application with fellow inmate Jorge Marquez Flores, 33, whom he met while incarcerated at Federal Medical Center Fort Worth. However, Joe shared some heartbreaking news on March 3, 2025, saying his husband had been deported. "They took him away from me today to deport him 2 days before my birthday," Joe wrote on Instagram.

Here’s everything we know about Joe's husband, his deportation, and why he was serving time in jail.

On March 3, 2025, Joe announced via Instagram that his husband had been deported that day, just two days before his birthday. In addition to sharing this heartbreaking news, Joe wrote in the caption, "Now you want me to beg you @realdonaldtrump to let me out so I can go save him. I will give you my first 5 million I make to get one of those gold cards if that's what it takes."

The "gold card" Joe is referring to is an idea floated by Trump, which would cost $5 million and grant lawful permanent resident status in the U.S. with a pathway to citizenship.

Joe's husband, Jorge Marquez Flores, hails from Mexico and was serving prison time for being in the U.S. illegally, as Joe revealed in his marriage announcement from October 2024. Jorge had been riding in a car with others who were also in the U.S. illegally, all from Mexico. "Jorge has no drug or violence on his record at all," Joe explained. "His only mistake was being born in a country of violence and poverty."

He further highlighted the dangers of Mexico, sharing that Jorge's cousin had been killed just two days prior to his marriage announcement "from the violence that has plagued parts of the country."

After sharing the news that his husband had been deported (and confirming in the comments of the March 3 post that the two are married), Joe revealed that he had to block "over 100 people on this post" because of rude comments. "I don't make money on Instagram so I could care less about numbers," he added.

In addition to dropping major news about his husband and his goal of getting him back in the U.S., Joe also claimed in the comments that he hadn't received any money from Netflix. When one person asked, "You didn’t get any Netflix money?" Joe replied simply, "Nope." This could explain why he said that when he gets out, he plans to use his first $5 million to bring his husband back.