Trump’s announcement of killing the leader of a Venezuelan gang carries a “chilling” detail, according to a legal expert.
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According to Trump, the U.S. military launched a “swift and lethal” strike against the leader of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that was a hot topic during the 2024 presidential election. Ryan Goodman, a chaired professor at NYU and editor-in-chief of Just Security, called out the details in Trump’s Truth Social post announcing the strike.
Goodman was alarmed in particular by a line of Trump’s post calling the gang a “foreign army.”
“If they’re this ‘army,’ what’s the limiting principle for stopping that use of state lethal force?” Goodman asked. “More significant and chilling is how far you have to read down this Trump post to learn the individual was not extrajudicially killed inside the U.S.”
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Additionally, he said the Justice Department’s position on the Alien Enemies Act seemed to “fall completely apart,” when the president said the strike was coordinated “closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well.”
Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act against Tren de Aragua in March 2025, claiming the gang acts as an arm of the Nicolás Maduro government. The designation, his administration claimed, allowed him to deport Venezuelan migrants without ordinary due process. A declassified U.S. intelligence assessment contradicted Trump’s claim that Tren de Aragua operates under Maduro’s control.
“DOJ position – and statute – requires TdA to be acting on behalf of Venezuelan government,” Goodman noted.
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