Claiming that the Nicolás Maduro regime has launched an invasion of the United States through a dangerous gang, President Donald Trump on Saturday invoked the war powers contemplated in a centuries-old act to assume the authority necessary to expedite mass deportation of Venezuelans citizens.
Enacted through a proclamation, the powers derived from the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 would be used to declare any members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang that have not become U.S. citizens or are not lawful permanent residents to be declared “alien enemies” and be apprehended and removed from the United States.
Accusing the Maduro regime of using gang members to cause harm inside the United States, Trump announced that all TdA members of 14 years of age or older inside the United States that are not citizens or are not lawful permanent residents will be liable to be “apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies.”
“I further find and declare that all such members of TdA are, by virtue of their membership in that organization, chargeable with actual hostility against the United States and are therefore ineligible for the benefits of 50 U.S.C. 22, (which would give the alien a set amount of time to put their affairs in order). I further find and declare that all such members of TdA are a danger to the public peace or safety of the United States,” he said.
Many of the members of the 2,500-strong TdA gang have joined the massive immigration wave fleeing Venezuela and have set up shop in neighboring countries. Authorities in the region say the gang is behind a spike in criminal activities in Colombia, Perú, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Costa Rica.
Some of them are believed to have entered into the United States. While experts believe they only amount to a few dozen, officials inside the Trump Administration have unofficially put the number in the several hundreds.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
el Nuevo Herald
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Galardonado periodista con más de 30 años de experiencia, especializado en la cobertura de temas sobre Venezuela. Amante de la historia y la literatura.