The American intelligence community invalidated a thesis used by Donald Trump to expel more than 200 Venezuelans towards a prison in Salvador, believing that the Gang Tren of Aragua is not linked to the regime of President Nicolas Maduro, according to a note made public on Monday.
• Read also: American customs duties: former vice-president Mike Pence fears shortages
• Read also: Trump will not lack support in Hollywood
“If the permissive environment of Venezuela authorizes TDA (Tren de Aragua, editor’s note) to operate, the Maduro regime probably does not have the policy of cooperating with ADD and does not direct the movements and ADD operations in the United States,” it reported in this memo.
The document, published by the office of the US National Intelligence Director (DNI) at the request of the Foundation for Press Freedom, was put online by the New York daily.
This “assessment of the intelligence community” is consistent with the conclusions of a previous report, mentioned in March by the New York Times, according to which the US intelligence agencies do not believe in the control of the criminal gang activities in the United States by the Venezuelan government.
After the publication of the New York Times article, quoting officials who requested anonymity, the Ministry of Justice replied by announcing the opening of a “criminal investigation into the selective leak of inaccurate information and nevertheless classified of the intelligence community about Tren de Aragua”.
The ministry then deplored “attempts at political motivation of the shadow state to undermine President Trump’s program by the flight of false information”.
The multinational gang, appointed “terrorist organization” by Washington, is targeted by the invocation of an exceptional law of 1798, used until then only in wartime, to drive criminals from the territory of migrants.
At the end of March, the Trump administration thus sent to the Salvador 238 Venezuelans, accused of being members of the Tren of Aragua. The American authorities did not explain in detail how they had identified belonging to the gang of these illegal migrants.
Lawyers for their part denounced the fact that these identifications rested, at least in part, on the tattoos they wore. Relatives of the expelled claim their innocence and consider them unfair their transfer to a high security prison in Salvador.
