To understand what the law used by US President Donald Trump to massively deport Venezuelan citizens is all about, you have to know that the magnate dusted off a law from 1798, called Alien Enemies Act which is nothing other than a law of war that has only been applied on three occasions: against the British after the War of Independence, against the Germans after the First World War, and against the Japanese during the Second World War.
Considering this situation and the characteristics of the law, the disproportionate nature of the measure is evident, firstly, because the United States and Venezuela are not at war. Secondly, the declaration of the measure against the members of the so-called Tren de Aragua criminalizes Venezuelans as a group and denies them any right to defense.
After invoking the controversial law, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg questioned whether the Trump administration ignored his orders to return planes carrying deportees to El Salvador, possibly violating a ruling he had issued minutes earlier.
Boasberg expressed disbelief at the administration's claims that his verbal instructions didn't count, that only his written order should be followed, that it couldn't apply to flights outside the U.S., and that they couldn't answer his questions about the trips because of national security concerns.
The Trump administration's response
The Trump administration ignored the judge's order, justifying it with its right to pursue security policy. White House Deputy Director for Policy Stephen Miller, one of President Donald Trump's closest advisors, denied on Monday that the federal judge who temporarily blocked the law to expedite deportations has the authority to do so.
"If a district court judge can intervene in the conduct of our foreign policy, we do not, under any circumstances, have a democracy in this country," said Miller, the architect of Trump's immigration policy.
According to the Trump administration, the Tren de Aragua criminal gang, which originated in Venezuelan prisons and has since been eradicated by the government of Nicolás Maduro, "is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening a predatory invasion or incursion against the territory."
However, it has been difficult for the U.S. government to prove these claims, nor has it been able to identify with evidence any of the Venezuelan citizens it has accused of belonging to this gang.
Miller confirmed that the government ignored the judge's order, arguing that "if we get to a point in this country where district court judges can interfere and direct specific targets or not, and say who should control territory, could they direct which general on the battlefield is going to be in charge of making which decisions?" he asked.
Violations of international conventions
The US government's mass deportation of Venezuelans seriously violates international law and international human rights conventions. This weekend, two flights carrying 261 deportees, 238 of them Venezuelans, arrived in Salvadoran territory without any of the citizens having the right to legal counsel. Nor was any connection between any of these citizens and the Tren de Aragua criminal group proven.
Venezuelan economist and university professor Francisco R. Rodríguez, who lives in the United States, analyzed on social media that this action taken by the Trump administration "has extremely serious legal and political implications."
1/ The White House has invoked the Enemy Aliens Act to deport Venezuelans suspected of belonging to the Tren de Aragua. This has extremely serious legal and political implications. Let's see what this decision really means. 🧵https://t.co/RdE0E17rrK
- Francisco Rodríguez (@frrodriguezc) March 17, 2025
The expert asserts that the Alien Enemies Act, the name of the law invoked by Trump, "allows the U.S. government to deport foreigners without due process in times of war or invasion. By applying it to Venezuelans, the administration is treating them as enemy combatants."
Under this law, Venezuelans over the age of 14 can be deported simply on the accusation of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, without the need for evidence or the opportunity to defend themselves in court. Rodríguez asserts that the procedure criminalizes Venezuelans because of their nationality.
He asserts that "this presidential order creates a legal loophole that allows Venezuelans to be expelled based solely on an accusation. For deportation purposes, it has the same impact as a declaration of war, even though there is no formal conflict."
He highlights the lack of a statement by some opposition political leaders who have not rejected this "direct attack against Venezuelan migrants," which is "unacceptable and must be rejected by all."
He concluded by stating that "using the laws of war to justify mass deportations is a legal atrocity that sets a very serious precedent."
The Aragua Train, rise and fall
The Tren de Aragua was originally a prison gang led by Venezuelan fugitive Héctor "Niño" Guerrero, who transformed it into a "transnational criminal organization" supported by migration induced by sectors of the national right, which placed some of these criminals in various countries, including the United States.
The criminal organization began in the Venezuelan prison of Tocorón, Aragua, where it expanded through blackmailing inmates as its main business. It has grown by forming networks abroad since 2020.
Many of its members are victims of the organization itself, people recruited after being forced to pay a regular fee to maintain their business or their physical safety. Migrants are one of the main targets.
President Donald Trump has targeted the Aragua Train, claiming they have "illegally infiltrated the United States and are conducting irregular warfare and hostile actions against the country."
In 2023, Venezuelan authorities announced the dismantling of eight "prison mafias" in several operations deployed in penitentiary centers, including the Aragua Train, which operated from Tocorón prison, one of the seven prisons seized.
The Venezuelan government, regarding the deportations of Venezuelan migrants from the US, claims that the Aragua Train has been dismantled. Maduro has demonstrated that the Aragua Train has ties to opposition protests and claims that former Colombian presidents Álvaro Uribe and Iván Duque are protecting the "Guerrero Boy" in Colombian territory.
