The U.S. declared that three alleged members of the violent transnational gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) are “alien enemies” and plans to extradite them to Chile, where they are wanted for numerous violent crimes, officials said Monday.
The Justice Department said the three gang members were Adrian Rafael Gamez Finol, 38, Miguel Oyola Jimenez and Edgar Javier Benitez Rubio, both aged 37. All three men entered the U.S. illegally after committing “brutal” crimes, including murder, kidnapping, extortion, human and drug trafficking and other offenses, in Chile.
“The Justice Department will work expeditiously to return these Alien Enemies to Chile to face justice,” the department said.
Gamez Finol is a dual Venezuelan and Colombian citizen who was deported from the U.S. to Venezuela in August 2023 and later allegedly re-entered the U.S. illegally. He is currently in Texas county prison serving a sentence for human smuggling.
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The seal of the Justice Department as seen in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 18, 2022. The Justice Department on Monday announced plans to extradite three members of the violent transnational gang Tren de Aragua to Chile. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Oyola Jimenez, a dual Venezuelan and Ecuadorian citizen, is in custody in Washington after Chilean authorities requested his arrest and return to Chile to stand trial on kidnapping charges.
Benitez Rubio, a Venezuelan citizen, is in immigration custody in Indiana.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a written statement that the men would have already been removed if not for an injunction against the Alien Enemies Act.
“In fact, we would have already removed these violent gang members to Chile to face justice were it not for the nationwide injunction imposed by a single judge in Washington, D.C., which we are challenging today in the D.C. Circuit,” Blanche said. “We hope common sense and justice will prevail.”
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The Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing, has been invoked three times, during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II.
Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of the D.C. Circuit granted a temporary restraining order preventing the deportations under the act.
The Trump administration has appealed the order.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is scheduled to hear arguments on the matter on Monday afternoon.
TdA is a narco-terrorism enterprise based in Venezuela. It was designated a foreign terrorist organization on Feb. 20 by the Department of State.