Trump administration planning to extradite 3 alleged Tren de Aragua members to Chile

The Trump administration is planning to extradite three alleged Tren de Aragua (TdA) members to Chile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday.

The Venezuelan gang has been a focus of the Trump administration. On March 15, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime act that’s only been used three times since its 1798 passing, to deport more than 200 alleged gang members.

The department said three known TdA members named Adrian Rafael Gamez Finol, Miguel Oyola Jimenez and Edgar Javier Benitez Rubio “illegally entered the United States after allegedy committing horrific crimes in Chile.” The DOJ declared all three to be "Alien Enemies."

“Recognizing the grave threat that TdA poses to the nations it infiltrates, Chile has asked the United States to help return these men to Chile to face justice,” the department said. “Today, the Department of Justice announced that it will take swift action to grant these requests and send these Alien Enemies to Chile.”

The DOJ said the men are wanted in Chile for extortion, kidnapping resulting in homicide, unjustified firearm discharge, kidnapping for ransom, among other charges.

Oyola Jimenez is in federal custody in the Western District of Washington, the department said. Benitez Rubio is in immigration custody in Indiana, and Gamez Finol is in a Texas county prison, serving a human smuggling sentence.

The extradition comes as U.S. District Judge James Boasberg and the Trump administration battle over the March 15 deportation of roughly 260 alleged members of the gang.

On Monday, Boasberg declined to lift a restraining order that banned the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans.

Topics

Timeline: Trump's race against courts to deport gang members under Alien Enemies Act

A minute-by-minute timeline of events of the Trump administration's race against the clock to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
ABC News - Mar. 17
What Is Tren de Aragua?

A gang with roots in a Venezuelan prison, the criminal group was at the center of President Trump’s order invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
The New York Times - Mar. 16
What is Tren de Aragua, Venezuelan gang targeted by Trump for deportations?

Tren de Aragua, commonly known as TdA, is the Venezuelan gang targeted by President Trump in recent mass deportations. On Saturday, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, the first time it’s ...
The Hill - Mar. 17
The truth about Tren de Aragua, the gang at the center of Trump's immigration crackdown

The Trump administration says the group should be treated as an invading force. Critics say it’s a pretext for the administration’s anti-immigrant narrative.
NBC News - Mar. 18
US deports Venezuelans after judge blocks Trump’s use of wartime law

El Salvador president Nayib Bukele agrees to jail alleged members of Tren de Aragua gang
Financial Times - Mar. 16
Lawsuit argues Trump's use of war authority for deportation could be limitless

Some information demanded by a judge about flights carrying alleged Tren de Aragua gang members is likely to remain private, the Justice Department said.
CBS News - Mar. 18
Venezuela accepts migrant flight with Tren de Aragua members: US

The arrival came after the U.S. government reached an agreement with President Nicolás Maduro, who suspended repatriation flights earlier this month.
The Hill - 2d
Trump continues to call for judge's impeachment after chief justice's rebuke

President Donald Trump continued his calls to impeach the judge who put a hold on his deportation flights of noncitizens alleged to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang.
ABC News - Mar. 18
Supreme Court chief justice rebukes Trump over call to impeach judge in deportation case

Trump's demand came a day after Chief Judge James Boasberg grilled a Department of Justice lawyer about deportations of alleged Tren de Aragua gang members.
CNBC - Mar. 18
Trump administration escalates legal battle over alleged gang member deportations

President Trump is lashing out again against the top federal judge who issued an order stopping deportation flights of alleged gang members under the Alien Enemies Act.
ABC News - 6d
Judge in deportation case chides DOJ lawyer for refusing to answer key questions

The court fight focuses on the Trump administration's use of a 1798 law to deport people it claims are part of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
NBC News - Mar. 17
Trump Administration Cites Alien Enemies Act as It Plans New Extraditions

By citing the act, the administration seems to be highlighting its aggressive posture without taking steps that might be deemed to violate a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge.
The New York Times - 1d
Judge rebukes Justice Dept., raises due process questions in deportation case

The court asked the government if "someone is not a member of Tren de Aragua or not a Venezuelan citizen or a U.S. citizen," how do they challenge their removal?
CBS News - 4d
Legal showdown over Trump’s deportation of alleged migrant gang members

In a federal appeals court, the Trump administration defended the president’s move to deport alleged migrant gang members, using a law giving him wartime powers. A federal judge recently blocked ...
NBC News - 1d
Lawyers file petition in El Salvador to free Venezuelans deported by U.S.

One of the attorneys said the Venezuelans they represent are not members of the Tren de Aragua gang, had migrated from their country and “don’t have any criminal record.”
NBC News - 21h
Rubio announces deportations day after judge blocks using Alien Enemies Act

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Sunday that hundreds of members of the Tren de Aragua gang have been deported under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, even as a federal judge ordered the ...
The Hill - Mar. 16
Trump deflects on deportation order invoking Alien Enemies Act: 'Other people handled it'

President Trump on Friday deflected when asked if he signed the order to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century wartime law, to deport Venezuelan migrants allegedly linked to the Tren de ...
The Hill - 3d
White House defends decision to deport alleged gang members amid legal fight

Over the weekend, the Trump administration cited a rarely-used 18th-century law to justify the deportations of suspected gang members. As Ed O'Keefe reports, the president's moves sparked a legal ...
CBS News - Mar. 17
Stephen Miller: Court has 'no authority' in deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members

Senior White House aide Stephen Miller on Monday asserted a federal judge did not have the authority to direct how the administration carried out the deportations of alleged gang members amid a ...
The Hill - Mar. 17
Trump administration ignores judge's order to divert 2 flights back to US: Sources

President Donald Trump's administration decided to ignore a judge's order to turn around two flights containing alleged Venezuelan gang members, sources said.
ABC News - Mar. 16
Has the Trump administration violated a court order with deportation of Venezuelan gang members?

Venezuelan gang members were deported from the U.S. under the Trump administration amid a judge issuing a court order against it. NBC News' Danny Cevallos breaks down the legality of the ...
NBC News - Mar. 17
Messages with Yemen war plans shared with reporter appears 'authentic': Official

Members of the Trump administration coordinated highly sensitive Yemen attack plans on an unsecure group chat, a White House official confirmed.
ABC News - 1d
Sycophancy and toadying are de rigueur in Trump’s court of self-aggrandizement | Sidney Blumenthal

Gestures of servility from administration members and world leaders alike are sickeningly common in the mad king’s court. Sycophancy is the coin of the realm. In Donald Trump ’s court, flattery is ...
The Guardian - Mar. 9
US deports 250 alleged gang members to El Salvador despite court ruling to halt flights

Trump invoked 1798 law previously used to detain Japanese Americans in second world war to justify deportations. The US deported more than 250 mainly Venezuelan alleged gang members to El ...
The Guardian - Mar. 16
DOJ seeks to boot judge questioning Trump deportations, lawyer warns of 'constitutional crisis'

The Trump administration has used the wartime Alien Enemies Act to deport hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to Central America.
CNBC - Mar. 18
Columbia concedes to Trump administration demands

The Trump administration demanded changes at Columbia University over alleged antisemitism on campus, with the school facing a freeze of $400 million in federal funds if they refused to comply. NBC ...
NBC News - 4d
US women’s justice group launches campaign to get Andrew Tate extradited

UltraViolet attacks Trump administration for reportedly influencing Romanian officials to allow him to fly to Florida. A prominent women’s justice organization launched a campaign on Thursday to ...
The Guardian - 5d
Lawmakers urge Trump administration to cancel owl-killing plan

A bipartisan group of lawmakers urge the Trump administration to scrap plans to kill more than 450,000 invasive barred owls in West Coast forests in coming decades
ABC News - Mar. 10
Trump administration plans for militarized border in New Mexico – report

Administration reportedly working to fulfill a conservative dream: create buffer zone to be occupied by US troops. The Trump administration is working on a plan to create what conservatives have ...
The Guardian - 6d
‘Deported because of his tattoos’: has the US targeted Venezuelans for their body art?

US claims tattoos prove membership of Tren de Aragua gang but relatives describe tributes to God, family and Real Madrid. . Like many Venezuelans of his generation, Franco José Caraballo Tiapa is a ...
The Guardian - 5d
FBI extradites '10 Most Wanted' list fugitive from Mexico: Patel

The FBI extradited one of the “Ten Most Wanted” list fugitives, an alleged key leader of international criminal gang MS-13, from Mexico. FBI Director Kash Patel said Francisco Javier ...
The Hill - Mar. 18
3/24: America Decides

Reporter says Trump administration accidentally texted him war plans; Supreme Court hears Louisiana redistricting case
CBS News - 1d
White House touts deportations under Alien Enemies Act after judge block efforts

The Trump administration announced deportations of hundreds of immigrants it alleges are members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act.
NBC News - Mar. 16
Judge blocks Trump administration plan to cut millions for teacher training

Eight states had requested a temporary restraining order, which judge granted saying ‘programs ... will be gutted’ . A federal judge in Boston on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration’s plan to ...
The Guardian - Mar. 12
Trump pick to head Social Security Administration denies plans to privatize

Wall Street veteran Frank Bisignano, whom President Trump has picked to head the Social Security Administration, told senators Tuesday that there are not any secret plans to privatize ...
The Hill - 20h
Trump’s new clashes with federal judges

A federal judge gave the Trump administration one more day to respond to questions about recent deportation flights to El Salvador with alleged gang members, but warned of “consequences” if he ...
NBC News - 6d
University in US agrees to Trump administration's demand for mask ban

The Trump administration has warned 60 universities funding may be cut if they do not address allegations of antisemitism on campuses.
BBC News - 3d
Trump faces new legal battle after deporting Venezuelan migrants

President Donald Trump is defending his administration's controversial deportation of around 300 alleged Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador. The White House claimed authority for ...
NBC News - Mar. 17
Judge orders Trump White House to disclose deportation flight details

The Trump administration went to court Monday defending its decision to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and deport hundreds of alleged gang members to El Salvador. On Saturday night, a judge ...
CBS News - Mar. 17

More from The Hill

Trump is a defining issue at home and abroad

President Trump's actions have united Canadians against him, leading to a significant shift in support for the Liberal Party over the Conservative Party in the polls.
The Hill - 55m
Trump orders declassification of FBI’s Russia investigation

President Trump on Tuesday signed a memorandum directing the declassification of FBI files related to the investigation into his 2016 campaign's potential ties to Russia. The memorandum calls for ...
The Hill - 16h
In Trump versus the Constitution, Congress is backing the wrong side

We urgently need our courts and our elected officials, Democrats and Republicans, to reaffirm the checks and balances designed to prevent abuses of power by any president.
The Hill - 1d
Carville on Schumer CR vote: ‘This might turn out to be a wiser decision than people think’

Democratic strategist James Carville weighed in on Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s (N.Y.) decision to vote in favor of the House GOP-led continuing resolution, saying it might turn out to ...
The Hill - Mar. 18
Trump is reversing Nixon’s strategy to split China from Russia

The opening that Donald Trump sees is the one Richard Nixon saw half a century ago.
The Hill - 1h