Trump Invokes Wartime Powers, Targets Foreign Gangs For ‘Immediate Apprehension, Detention, And Removal’

President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 against the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) on Saturday, making gang members liable to immediate arrest and removal as “Alien Enemies” of the U.S.

“[A]ll Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older who are members of TdA, are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States are liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies,” Trump proclaimed, citing the authority of the U.S. Constitution and laws “including the Alien Enemies Act.”

Alien Enemies would be “subject to immediate apprehension, detention, and removal, and further that they shall not be permitted residence in the United States,” according to the proclamation.

Trump added that TdA members were at war with the U.S. “directly and at the direction, clandestine or otherwise, of the Maduro regime in Venezuela” and were a threat to the peace and safety of the U.S. The announcement follows a Jan. 20, 2025 executive order classifying TdA and other transnational cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. (RELATED: Here’s How A Venezuelan Gang Was Able To Infiltrate The US And Wreak Havoc In Major Cities)

Venezuela had become “a hybrid criminal state” as the TdA and other transnational gangs gained increasing control over the country while also “flood[ing]” the U.S. with drugs and illegal migrants, according to Trump’s proclamation.

Trump also accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and former Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami of sponsoring and aiding criminal gangs, including TdA.

“TdA grew significantly while Tareck El Aissami served as governor of Aragua between 2012 and 2017,” the proclamation states.

El Aissami is a fugitive of the U.S., having been declared “wanted” by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs over international drug trafficking charges.

Along with several other Venezuelan officials, Maduro, who — according to Trump, “claims to act as Venezuela’s President” — was charged in 2020 with running a “narco-terrorism partnership” with Colombian rebels to weaponize cocaine against the U.S. populace.

Maduro is also wanted for drug trafficking charges. “The United States has not recognized Maduro as the President of Venezuela since 2019,” the U.S. Department of State noted.

The Alien Enemies Act is one of four laws passed in 1798 as the U.S. neared a war with France to raise residency requirements, authorize punitive presidential actions against aliens in wartime and limit speech critical of the U.S. government, according to the U.S. National Archives.

TdA and other Venezuelan gangs have been linked to several migrant crimes across the U.S., ranging from various shooting incidents and robberies to sex trafficking, home invasion and murder.

Diego Ibarra, the brother of the illegal Venezuelan immigrant Jose Ibarra who was convicted for the murder of American student Laken Riley, was allegedly linked to TdA.