The US Supreme Court blocks Trump’s plan to deport Venezuelan immigrants

The US Supreme Court has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s plan to deport Venezuelan immigrants under the “enemy alien law”.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a petition with the Supreme Court to halt the Trump administration’s attempt to deport at least 30 Venezuelan immigrants.

The Washington Post added that 7 out of 9 judges voted in favor of the decision to halt the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants whom the Trump administration had planned to deport.

The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the court’s decision in a statement.

It’s worth noting that the US administration has designated the MS-13 gang, based in El Salvador, and the Tren de Aragua gang, based in Venezuela, as “foreign terrorist organizations”.

Both gangs are considered among the most dangerous criminal organizations in Latin America.

President Trump reactivated the Enemy Alien Act, previously used only in times of war, to expedite the deportation of immigrants with alleged ties to foreign terrorist organizations as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration.

The Trump administration transferred a group of detainees to prisons in El Salvador, claiming they were members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs.

In another context, Venezuela’s public prosecutor announced on Friday the arrest of a former Venezuelan police investigator wanted in the United States on drug trafficking charges.

In 2020, the US State Department offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Jesús Alfredo Etriago, the former head of the investigation’s unit of the Venezuelan National Police’s Drug Enforcement Administration.

Authorities accuse the 67-year-old former police officer of exploiting his position to protect drug shipments originating from Venezuela.

After the arrest of several of his associates, he took control of some drug smuggling routes himself.

Etriago was charged in 2013 in Florida with conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States.

The Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office announced on Friday his arrest “for his involvement in drug trafficking”.

The office added in a statement on Instagram that he will be charged with “conspiracy, money laundering, drug and psychotropic substance trafficking, arms trafficking, and membership in a criminal gang”.