FBI Supports Claims of Maduro Regime's Role in 'Tren de Aragua' Migration To U.S. In Interagency Dispute with CIA, NSA

A newly unsealed FBI memo has intensified a rift within the U.S. intelligence community over the Trump administration's claim that authoritarian government of Nicolas Maduro controls the Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang.

The broader intelligence community, including the C.I.A. and the National Security Agency, have continuously rejected the notion that the Maduro regime controls or directs the group.

"The F.B.I. assesses some Venezuelan government officials likely facilitate the migration of TdA members from Venezuela to the United States to advance the Maduro regime's objective of undermining public safety," the bureau stated in the memo, attributing its judgment to the statements of seven detained migrants, some of whom may have had incentives to fabricate information, The New York Times reports.

The FBI rated its confidence in the assessment as "medium," and acknowledged that alternative explanations—such as independent criminal activity by gang members—were equally plausible.

In contrast, the National Intelligence Council (NIC), representing the consensus of agencies including the CIA and NSA, concluded in a February memo that "the Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States."

The NIC also expressed concern about the credibility of detainees' claims and the absence of corroborating evidence such as communications or financial transactions between the regime and the gang.

The assessment was disputed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio days later who bluntly stated during an interview with Face the Nation that "they're wrong". The memo also led Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard firing two top officials involved in the research, including Michael Collins, then acting NIC head.

Moreover, a recent report detailed that a top Trump administration official pressured intelligence analysts to revise the document. Emails reveal that Joe Kent, chief of staff to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, urged analysts to revise the original report to avoid political fallout, the New York Times reported.

On March 24, just days after a New York Times article exposed the contradiction between Trump's statement and the intelligence report, Kent emailed analysts to "rethink" their assessment and produce a version more aligned with "basic common sense" and the administration's policy narrative. He also suggested the Biden administration had effectively aided the gang's migration efforts through lax border enforcement.

Trump issued a proclamation on March 15 asserting Venezuelan state control over the gang to justify deporting migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used 18th-century law typically reserved for wartime enemies. Planeloads of Venezuelans were sent to a prison in El Salvador without due process, but courts have since blocked further transfers, casting doubt on the legality of the deportations.

Despite revisions, the second version of the intelligence memo, completed April 7 and declassified in May, still refuted Trump's core assertion. While it acknowledged the presence of some gang members who may have received unofficial support, the report concluded that most intelligence linking Venezuela to gang-directed migration was "not credible."

Despite revisions, the second version of the intelligence memo, completed April 7 and declassified in May, still refuted Trump's core assertion. While it acknowledged the presence of some gang members who may have received unofficial support, the report concluded that most intelligence linking Venezuela to gang-directed migration was "not credible."