Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday sharpened his rhetoric against Venezuela, accusing Nicolás Maduro's government of sending drugs and violent criminals into the United States and branding the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as "probably the worst gang in the world."
"A lot of drugs are coming out of Venezuela. A lot of Tren de Aragua. They're trying to get out, but we're stopping them successfully at the border," Trump said. "That's the gang. Probably the worst gang in the world. MS-13, them, I think they're probably considered worse. And we don't like what Venezuela is sending us, whether it's their drugs or their gang members. We don't like it one bit."
.@POTUS: "We don't like what Venezuela's sending us, whether it's their drugs or whether it's their gang members. We don't like it — we don't like it one bit." pic.twitter.com/0Wt73K1xeP
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 14, 2025
Trump's comments are the latest in a string of attacks on Venezuela that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he first framed the country's collapse as a source of criminal migration. Over the years, his speeches and policies have increasingly linked Venezuelan migrants, drugs, and organized crime.
This year, his administration designated Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization, invoking emergency powers to speed deportations of alleged members. Courts, however, have pushed back, ruling that Trump cannot apply wartime laws without proof of an actual invasion.
Trump's remarks come less than two weeks after the U.S. military carried out a strike in the southern Caribbean on a vessel Washington said was transporting narcotics for Tren de Aragua. The attack killed 11 people, with Trump later releasing video of the explosion and warning, "There's more where that came from."
Venezuelan authorities dispute the U.S. account, insisting that none of the dead were gang members and accusing Washington of operating illegally in their waters. The strike follows increased U.S. patrols in the region, including the boarding of a Venezuelan tuna boat that Caracas called a violation of sovereignty.
Who Are Tren de Aragua?
The Tren de Aragua gang emerged from Venezuela's Tocorón prison, where leader Héctor "Niño" Guerrero built a network that extended beyond prison walls. At its peak, the gang controlled entire communities, financed itself through extortion, and spread to countries including Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Brazil.
The group is accused of human trafficking, drug smuggling, kidnappings, prostitution rings, and contract killings. Estimates of its size range from 4,000 to 7,000 members, though experts caution those numbers are hard to verify.
While U.S. officials now portray Tren de Aragua as a growing transnational threat, some investigators argue that its presence in the United States has been overstated, especially compared to MS-13, which has tens of thousands of members worldwide and a decades-long record of violent activity.
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