Trump administration defends Alien Enemies Act use
May 19, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request to remove a temporary block on deportations of Venezuelans under the rarely invoked Alien Enemies Act, on Friday. Trump responded on social media, with a post that claimed: “THE SUPREME COURT WON’T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!” (Guardian)
A top adviser to the Trump administration’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, ordered a senior analyst at the National Intelligence Council to redo an assessment of the relationship between Venezuela’s government and a gang after a report undercut the White House’s justification for deporting migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, reports the New York Times.
“While officials close to Ms. Gabbard said Mr. Kent’s request was entirely appropriate, other intelligence officials said they saw it as an effort to produce a torqued narrative that would support Mr. Trump’s agenda. But after re-examining the relevant evidence collected by agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the council on April 7 reaffirmed the original findings.” (New York Times)
James Bosworth explains that it is “hard to talk about “Tren de Aragua” as a single organization with a strategy because there are at least four or five different levels or subgroups of the gang. They range from the gangs that work with Venezuelan government officials at gold mines in the country to the assassins who killed Ojeda in Chile to extortion gangs in Peru that have nothing to do with those first two groups and have never spoken to them to random 18 year old Venezuelan migrants falsely calling themselves TdA inside the US because they think it’s cool and gives them street cred. It’s as much a brand as it is a group, and with less of an ideology than other designated terrorist organizations.” (Latin America Risk Report)
More Deportations
The U.S. Supreme Court let the Trump administration, for now, remove protections from nearly 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants who had been allowed to remain in the United States without risk of deportation under a program known as Temporary Protected Status, today, reports the New York Times.
El Salvador
Prominent human rights and anti-corruption lawyer Ruth López was detained in El Salvador and remains disappeared, according to rights groups. The attorney general’s office said López was detained for alleged embezzlement. She is a member of Cristosal, a rights group that has documented extensive violations carried out by the Bukele government. (Reuters)
“El Salvador’s state of exception has not only been used to address gang-related violence but also as a tool to silence critical voices,” say rights groups denouncing the detention.
Regional Relations
The South China Morning Post asks whether Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s visit to China last week — which included a meeting with thethe state-owned defense giant China North Industries Corporation (Norinco) — could indicated future cooperation in defense and security between the two countries.
A 39-year-old woman become the first Mexican citizen to be indicted in the United States on charges of providing material support to a cartel designated as a foreign terrorist organization, according to the US Department of Justice.
María Del Rosario Navarro is accused of conspiring with others to provide grenades to the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG), reports the Guardian.
These designations are a departure from the usual use of the “foreign terrorist” label, notes Al Jazeera, and critics say this application could have unintended consequences: The “foreign terrorist designation” makes it a crime for anyone to offer material support to a given group, but criminal gangs often extort civilians for money and services as part of their fundraising activities.
Colombia
Thousands of trade unionists have been attacked in recent years in Colombia which, by some measurements, is the most dangerous place in the world for organized labor, according to the BBC.
Argentina
Argentina’s ruling Libertad Avanza performed strongly in legislative elections in Buenos Aires city, yesterday — headed by presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni (and backed by presidential sister Karina Milei), Libertad Avanza obtained the majority of the popular vote and won five new seats on the city legislature. The Peronist list headed by leftist Leandro Santoro came in second in the vote count. The vote is another nail in the conservative PRO party’s political coffin, reports Cenital.
The dramatic result in favor of Libertad Avanza in a traditional PRO stronghold could help Javier Milei’s chances in crucial midterm elections in October as voters across the country’s capital abandoned the main conservative party, reports the Associated Press.
President Javier Milei is preparing to relax Argentina’s tax evasion regulation in a bid to coax billions of dollars stowed away “under mattresses,” a common practise in a country with regular financial meltdowns, back into the regular economy. (Financial Times)
A delegation of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, whose relatives were murdered and disappeared under Argentina’s military dictatorship, will meet European Union officials today to seek support for expanded DNA testing to identify missing children, reports the Guardian.
Ecuador
A March massacre in Guayaquil “provides a window into the tectonic shifts taking place in Ecuador’s underworld, as well as how the government’s strategy of breaking up the country’s largest criminal groups may only lead to more violence,” reports InSight Crime.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua's National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment on Friday to eliminate dual citizenship in a move that would impact thousands of people, including government opponents, reports Reuters.
Haiti
Germine Joly, once one of the most powerful gang leaders in Haiti has been found guilty of kidnapping 16 U.S. citizens who worked in Haiti as missionaries, reports the Miami Herald.
Bolivia
Bolivia's ruling MAS party named interior minister Eduardo del Castillo as its presidential candidate on Friday, days after the current president, Luis Arce, said he would not seek re-election. (AFP)
Critter Corner
Young male capuchin monkeys on a Panamanian island have been documented kidnapping infant howler monkeys for no clearly discernible reason. The infants often died from dehydration or starvation, reports the New York Times.