Trump Linked Tren De Aragua With Venezuela's Regime To Conduct Swift Deportations, But The Intelligence Says Otherwise

[Judi Lynn]

The intelligence community's findings cast doubt on Trump's justification for invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798

Demian Bio @bio_demian / Published Mar 21 2025, 3:55 PM EDT

President Donald Trump has said that Venezuelan-born gang Tren De Aragua is operating under the direction of Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro, a claim that played a key role in his decision to invoke a centuries-old wartime law to swiftly deport hundreds of nationals of the South American country.

However, a recent intelligence assessment contradicts that claim and concluded that is not the case, the New York Times reported, citing officials familiar with the report.

The intelligence community's findings cast doubt on Trump's justification for invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which administration used to transfer the migrants to an infamous high-security prison in El Salvador without due process.

The assessment, which represents the consensus of multiple intelligence agencies, reportedly determined that the gang was neither directed by the Venezuelan government nor committing crimes in the United States on its behalf.

The report found no evidence supporting that assertion and described the gang as disorganized, lacking the capacity to execute state-directed operations. It also noted that Venezuelan security forces have engaged in violent clashes with the group, suggesting hostility rather than coordination.

More:
https://www.latintimes.com/trump-linked-tren-de-aragua-venezuelas-regime-conduct-swift-deportations-intelligence-says-578994

[Judi Lynn]

1. ICE Deported Professional Soccer Player After 'I Love You' Sign Language Symbol Was Interpreted as Gang Sign: Affidavit

The asylum seeker entered the US legally after he was tortured for protesting Venezuela's authoritarian regime

Morgan Music / Updated Mar 21 2025, 10:18 AM EDT

The asylum seeker entered the US legally after he was tortured for protesting Venezuela's authoritarian regime

A professional soccer player seeking asylum in the US was deported to El Salvador under the Aliens Enemy Act.

Immigration officials accused Jerce Reyes Barrios of gang membership—based on a tattoo and a hand gesture he made in a photo on social media.

A former professional player and youth soccer coach, Reyes Barrios was detained by ICE in September 2024 after legally presenting himself at the border through the CBP One app. He had fled Venezuela after he was imprisoned and tortured for his participation in a protest against the authoritarian Maduro regime.

Despite having no criminal record and providing evidence supporting his asylum claim, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleged Reyes Barrios was a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. In early March, he was abruptly moved to a detainment facility in Texas, then deported to El Salvador on March 15.

More:
https://www.latintimes.com/ice-deported-professional-soccer-player-after-i-love-you-sign-language-symbol-was-interpreted-578912

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Deadline: Legal Blog-Trump's Alien Enemies Act invocation gets even more dubious with new evidence

A newly declassified memo further cuts against the administration’s case for summary deportations under the wartime law.
https://bsky.app/profile/fancynance.bsky.social/post/3lojzetznos2r

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/trump-alien-enemies-act-memo-deportations-rcna205112

Last week, a Donald Trump-appointed judge in Texas deemed the president’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act “unlawful.” Blocking further deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members under that law, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. said the invocation didn’t meet the legal standard demanded by the 1798 wartime law.

In doing so, Rodriguez emphasized that he wasn’t delving into Trump’s factual assertions underlying his invocation, including the claim that the Venezuelan government directs the gang Tren de Aragua’s actions. Even if those claims were true, the judge found, the government still didn’t meet the legal standard, because the alleged conduct didn’t qualify as an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” under the law.

But a newly declassified memo undercuts that factual claim, too, leaving both the legal and factual basis of Trump’s invocation wanting.

The New York Times reported that the memo, released Monday, “confirms that U.S. intelligence agencies rejected a key claim President Trump put forth to justify invoking a wartime statute to summarily deport Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador.” The Times reported that the memo “states that spy agencies do not believe that the administration of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, controls a criminal gang, Tren de Aragua. That determination contradicts what Mr. Trump asserted when he invoked the deportation law, the Alien Enemies Act.”

This latest news comes as another judge, in New York, ruled against Trump’s invocation on Tuesday. Meanwhile, lawyers for people already sent to that Salvadoran prison are seeking their return in a case out of Washington, D.C., while the Supreme Court could weigh in at any time in yet another case on the subject (a different one from Texas).

Ultimately, the justices could need to resolve the underlying legality of Trump’s invocation once and for all. The overall case against it is mounting.

I remain shocked that any competent lawyer would file a petition defending the use of the Alien Enemies Act. The use of this law does not pass the blush test. The judges who have ruled against this law did so based on the fact that it is clear that this law does not apply. Now it turns out that the Federal government knew that the factual claims made with respect to this law were false.

I am hoping that there will be some attorneys who will at least be sanctioned due to the use of this law.