Justice Department brings first terrorism case against alleged
high-ranking TdA gang member
[April 24, 2025]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER
WASHINGTON
(AP) — The Justice Department has charged an alleged high-ranking member
of Tren de Aragua in Colombia with terrorism offenses, making the first
case of its kind against a member of the gang the Trump administration
has designated a foreign terrorist organization, officials said
Wednesday. |
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the
Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16,
2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) |
|
The case is part of a broad push to target Tren de Aragua or TdA,
a Venezuelan gang that has been blamed for drug smuggling and
violence in the United States. President Donald Trump has
labeled the gang an invading force under an 18th century wartime
law to deport Venezuelan migrants to a notorious El Salvador
prison as part of Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown.
The Justice Department's application of a criminal statute
primarily reserved in recent years for extremist groups such as
the Islamic State and al-Qaida underscores the extent to which
the administration is relying on a strikingly expansive
definition of terrorism as it pursues a national security agenda
focused on drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
“TdA is not a street gang – it is a highly structured terrorist
organization that put down roots in our country during the prior
administration,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
“Today’s charges represent an inflection point in how this
Department of Justice will prosecute and ultimately dismantle
this evil organization, which has destroyed American families
and poisoned our communities.”
Jose Enrique Martinez Flores, 24, was charged in Texas federal
court with drug offenses as well as conspiring to provide and
providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist
organization. Prosecutors described him as part of the “inner
circle of TdA leadership,” and accuse him of playing a role in
the international distribution of cocaine.
He is in custody in Colombia awaiting further proceedings. The
Justice Department said he faces up to life in prison.
The material support statute has long been a favored tool of the
Justice Department to build prosecutions against people who are
suspected of facilitating the operations of a militant group but
not always carrying out violence themselves.
The addition of TdA to the State Department list of foreign
terrorist organizations enables the Justice Department to wield
the statute against individuals suspected of supporting that
group.
The announcement comes days after prosecutors announced what
they said was the first case to bring federal racketeering
charges, which were famously used to bring down the Mafia,
against the Venezuelan street gang.
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