Venezuela ‘likely’ weaponizing Tren de Aragua, migration against US: FBI

According to the outlet, the FBI has assessed that officials in the Venezuelan government "likely facilitated" the migration of Tren de Aragua gang members to the United States to undermine the safety of the country as well as advance the agenda of the Maduro regime.

The details were shared with the outlet by a senior Trump administration official in the FBI from unclassified portions of a report from the federal agency. Fox reported, "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 report added.

In addition to this, the FBI has determined that in the next six to 18 months, the Venezuelan government will try to use the members of TdA in the US to threaten, kidnap, and kill Venezuelans in the US who are critics of the Maduro regime in Venezuela. This is also expected to take place in various countries in South America, the FBI official told the outlet. The other countries include Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia.

The Post Millennial has previously reported that people who have come to the US from Venezuela legally have been targeted by TdA in Utah.

"These findings should shock Americans but not the law enforcement community," the official told Fox News. "They reflect the sentiments of numerous other intelligence assessments across multiple agencies."

"[Nicolas] Maduro is a Marxist dictator who hijacked a once-prosperous Venezuela and brought in nothing but total economic collapse and gang takeover," the official added. "He crumbled Caracas, now overrun with drugs and violence, and wants to do the same across the United States by sending his most violent and dangerous criminals into our communities."

Another official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence spoke to reporters, and added, "This information and intelligence are the most robust and accurate given their focus on domestic security and crimes, versus limited intelligence assessments from other intelligence elements who by law focus solely on foreign intelligence collection and who, until President Trump took office, had very limited resources focused on TdA."

The official added that TdA leaders 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 official continued.

Maduro 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."