Venezuelan Government Uses Tren de Aragua as Proxies to Undermine US Public Safety, FBI Assessment Finds

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.

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The Venezuelan leader, deemed a “dictator” by American lawmakers, is set to hold office until 2031.

“The Trump administration will continue to use every authority in our power to make sure these TdA terrorists, who are some of the worst in the world, are kept out of our country,” the U.S. official said. “The American people voted overwhelmingly to make America safe again, and that is exactly what we will do.”

Fox News Digital also spoke to an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Wednesday, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The ODNI official told Fox News Digital that the FBI’s assessment is based on its domestic law enforcement operations against Tren de Aragua in America.

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Meanwhile, the ODNI official briefed Fox News Digital on unclassified information from its assessment on Tren de Aragua’s relationship with the Venezuelan government.

The official said ODNI assesses that Tren de Aragua leaders historically have been “located and broadly benefited from conditions in Venezuela created by the Venezuelan government.”

“The Venezuelan government gives sanctuary to TdA, aiding and abetting their crimes and terrorist activities against the United States by enabling them to thrive,” the ODNI told Fox News Digital.

The official said that unlike most countries, the Maduro regime has “been eager to welcome violent TdA criminals back to Venezuela, providing further proof they see them as allies. Again, this mirrors the behavior of the Taliban in Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern failed states like Syria and Libya that have welcomed terrorists with open arms.”

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