Recently declassified intelligence contradicts Trump administration claims that the Tren de Aragua gang is coordinating with the Venezuelan government — undercutting a key basis for President Trump’s invocation of wartime powers to remove people to a Salvadoran prison.
In justifying his use of the 1789 Alien Enemies Act, Trump accused Tren de Aragua (TDA) of coordinating with President Nicolás Maduro — a basis for using powers to go after citizens of an “enemy nation.”
But a document from the National Intelligence Council, first obtained by the Freedom of the Press Foundation and reviewed by The Hill, shows the U.S. intelligence community has not found any coordination between the Maduro regime and the gang.
“While Venezuela’s permissive environment enables TDA to operate, the Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States,” the document states, referring to the gang by an acronym.