Venezuelan government uses Tren de Aragua as proxies to undermine US public safety, FBI assessment finds
'These findings should shock Americans but not the law enforcement community,' a senior administration official told Fox News Digital
By Brooke Singman Fox News
Published April 23, 2025 2:26pm EDT
EXCLUSIVE: The FBI assesses that some Venezuelan government officials "likely facilitate" the migration of members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua from Venezuela to the United States to advance the Maduro regime’s objective of undermining public safety in the U.S., Fox News Digital has learned.
A senior administration official exclusively shared with Fox News Digital Wednesday unclassified portions of the FBI’s classified intelligence assessment of the Venezuelan government’s relationship with Tren de Aragua.
President Donald Trump, upon taking office, designated Tren de Aragua, as well as several other migrant gangs present throughout the U.S., as a foreign terrorist organization.
Fox News Digital has learned that the FBI assesses that some Venezuelan government officials are likely using Tren de Aragua members as proxies for the Maduro regime in an effort to destabilize Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and the United States. The official said the FBI assesses that this demonstrates Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s willingness to violate the territorial sovereignty of Venezuela’s neighbors to advance his regime’s policies.
The FBI assesses that in the next six to 18 months, Venezuelan government officials likely will attempt to leverage Tren de Aragua members in the United States as proxy actors to threaten, abduct and kill members of the Venezuelan diaspora in the United States who are vocal critics of Maduro and his regime.
The FBI expects an expansion of similar activities throughout South America.
