The President of the United States, Donald Trump, issued an Executive Order this Saturday invoking the Foreign Enemies Act in response to the invasion of the United States by Tren De Aragua.
Tren de Aragua (TdA) has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) due to its transnational criminal structure and involvement in hostile activities against the United States. With thousands of members operating across multiple countries, including those who have illegally entered the U.S., this organization is waging an irregular war that threatens national security.
The TdA maintains an operational alliance with the Cartel of the Suns, a narcoterrorist organization sponsored by the regime of Nicolás Maduro, from where they coordinate illicit activities such as murders, kidnappings, extortion, and trafficking of people, drugs, and weapons.
Moreover, the TdA has actively participated in mass illegal migration to the U.S., using this strategy to consolidate its criminal presence, undermine public safety, and bolster the Chavista regime’s goal of destabilizing democratic nations in the Americas, including the United States.
Authorities have raised alarms regarding the expansion of this group and the urgency to take measures to curb their influence and criminal activities within the U.S. territory.
This is today’s Executive Order
Tren de Aragua (TdA) is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization with thousands of members, many of whom have illegally infiltrated the United States and are waging an irregular war and conducting hostile actions against the country. The TdA operates in conjunction with the Cartel of the Suns, the narcoterrorist organization sponsored by the regime of Nicolás Maduro based in Venezuela, and commits brutal crimes including murders, kidnappings, extortion, and trafficking of people, drugs, and weapons. The TdA has participated and continues to participate in mass illegal migration to the United States to advance its goals of harming American citizens, undermining public safety, and supporting the Maduro regime’s objective of destabilizing democratic nations in the Americas, including the United States.
The TdA is closely aligned with the Maduro regime, having infiltrated its military and police apparatus. The TdA grew significantly while Tareck El Aissami served as governor of Aragua from 2012 to 2017. In 2017, El Aissami was appointed Vice President of Venezuela. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated him as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker (SDNT) under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq). El Aissami is currently a fugitive from U.S. justice and faces charges stemming from violations of U.S. sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department.
Like El Aissami, Nicolás Maduro, who claims to hold the presidency of Venezuela and controls the country’s security forces and other authorities, also maintains close ties with regime-sponsored narcoterrorists. Maduro leads the Cartel of the Suns, a regime-sponsored organization that coordinates with the TdA and other groups to pursue its goal of using illegal narcotics as a weapon to flood the United States. In 2020, Maduro and other members of the regime were accused of narcoterrorism and other crimes related to this conspiracy against the United States.
Over the years, Venezuelan national and local authorities have ceded increasing control over their territories to transnational criminal organizations, including the TdA. The result is a hybrid criminal state that perpetrates an invasive and predatory incursion into the United States, posing a substantial danger to this country. In fact, in December 2024, INTERPOL Washington confirmed: “Tren de Aragua has become a significant threat to the United States by infiltrating migratory flows from Venezuela.” Evidence irrefutably shows that TdA has invaded the United States and continues to invade, attempting to invade and threatening to invade the country; they have perpetrated an irregular war within the country; and have used drug trafficking as a weapon against our citizens.
Based on a review of TdA’s activities, and in consultation with the Attorney General and Secretary of the Treasury, on February 20, 2025, acting pursuant to the authority established in Title 8 of the United States Code, Section 1189, the Secretary of State designated the TdA as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
As the President of the United States and Commander in Chief, it is my solemn duty to protect the American people from the devastating effects of this invasion. THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Foreign Enemies Act, Title 50 of the United States Code, Section 21 and following, do hereby proclaim and order as follows:
Section 1. I find and declare that the TdA is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States. The TdA is conducting hostile actions and an irregular war against the territory of the United States, both directly and under the direction, covert or otherwise, of the Maduro regime in Venezuela. I make these findings exercising all my authority to direct the foreign affairs of the Nation, pursuant to the Constitution. Based on these findings, and under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including Section 21 of Title 50 of the United States Code (USC), I proclaim that all Venezuelan citizens over the age of 14 who are members of the TdA, are present in the United States and are not naturalized or lawful permanent residents of this country, may be detained, held, secured, and expelled as Foreign Enemies. I also declare that all members of the TdA, by virtue of their membership in such organization, are culpable of actual hostility against the United States and, therefore, cannot take advantage of the benefits of Section 21 of USC. Additionally, I declare that all members of the TdA pose a danger to the public peace and safety of the United States.
Section 2. I direct the Attorney General to prepare and publish, within 60 days following the date of this proclamation, a letter under his signature declaring that the policy described in Section 1 of this proclamation is the policy of the United States and is attached hereto. I direct the Attorney General to transmit this letter to the Chief Justice of the United States, to the chief judge of each circuit court of appeals, to the chief judge of each district and territorial court of the United States, to each governor of a state and territory of the United States, and to the highest judicial officer of each state and territory of the United States.
Section 3. I indicate that all Foreign Enemies described in Section 1 of this proclamation are subject to immediate apprehension, detention, and expulsion, and that, in addition, they shall not be permitted to reside in the United States.
Section 4. Pursuant to the Foreign Enemies Act, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, in accordance with applicable law, apprehend, restrain, secure, and expel any Foreign Enemy described in Section 1 of this proclamation. The Secretary of Homeland Security reserves the discretion to apprehend and expel any Foreign Enemy under any independent authority.
Section 5. All executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall collaborate with U.S. law enforcement authorities and with relevant state, local, and tribal authorities to utilize all lawful means at their disposal to detain, restrain, secure, and expel the Foreign Enemies described in Section 1 of this proclamation.
Section 6. By virtue of my authority under Title 50 of the United States Code, Section 21, to direct the conduct to be observed in the United States toward Foreign Enemies subject to this proclamation, to determine the form and degree of restriction to which such Foreign Enemies shall be subject and in which cases, to provide for their expulsion, and to establish any other regulations deemed necessary “in the premises and for public safety,” I hereby order the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to execute all regulations set forth below regarding the Foreign Enemies described in Section 1 of this proclamation. The Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security are hereby authorized to take all necessary actions under the Foreign Enemies Act to enforce this proclamation, in accordance with applicable law. In doing so, and for that purpose, they are authorized to enlist the assistance of agents, agencies, and officials of the Government of the United States, from its various states, territories, dependencies, and municipalities, as well as the District of Columbia. Hereby, all such agents, agencies, and officials are granted full authority for all acts performed in compliance with such regulations when acting pursuant to the order of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as applicable.
Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Foreign Enemies Act, 50 U.S.C. 21 and following, I hereby establish and promulgate the following rules that I deem necessary “in the premises and for public safety”:
(a) No foreign enemy described in Section 1 of this proclamation shall enter, attempt to enter, or be found in any territory subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Any foreign enemy who enters, attempts to enter, or is found in such territory shall be immediately apprehended and detained pending their expulsion from the United States. All such foreign enemies, wherever found in any territory subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, shall be subject to summary detention.
(b) Foreign enemies apprehended under this proclamation shall be subject to detention pending their expulsion from the United States at the place of detention indicated by the officials responsible for enforcing these rules.
(c) Foreign enemies shall be subject to expulsion to any place indicated by the officials responsible for enforcing these rules, in accordance with applicable law.
(d) Any property in the possession of, or traceable to, a Foreign Enemy, that is used, intended to be used, or is habitually used to perpetrate the hostile activity and irregular war of the TdA, along with the evidence of such hostile activity and irregular war, shall be subject to seizure and confiscation.
The Attorney General also has the authority, pursuant to the Foreign Enemies Act and Title 3 of the United States Code, Section 301, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to issue any necessary guidance for the prompt apprehension, detention, and expulsion of all Foreign Enemies described in Section 1 of this proclamation. Such guidance shall take effect immediately upon issuance by the Attorney General.
This proclamation and the directives and regulations prescribed herein shall extend and apply to all lands.