US plans to return 3 alleged Tren de Aragua members to Chile for ‘brutal’ crimes
The United States government has declared three alleged members of the violent transnational gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) as “alien enemies” and is planning to extradite them to Chile, where they are wanted for numerous violent crimes. The Justice Department announced on Monday that the three gang members in question are Adrian Rafael Gamez Finol, Miguel Oyola Jimenez, and Edgar Javier Benitez Rubio, all of whom have committed heinous crimes in Chile including murder, kidnapping, extortion, human and drug trafficking, and other offenses.
Gamez Finol, a dual Venezuelan and Colombian citizen, was deported from the U.S. to Venezuela in August 2023 but allegedly re-entered the country illegally. He is currently serving a sentence for human smuggling in a Texas county prison. Oyola Jimenez, a dual Venezuelan and Ecuadorian citizen, is currently in custody in Washington at the request of Chilean authorities for kidnapping charges. Benitez Rubio, a Venezuelan citizen, is in immigration custody in Indiana.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the men would have already been extradited to Chile if not for an injunction against the Alien Enemies Act. This act, dating back to 1798, allows for the deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing. The Trump administration has appealed a temporary restraining order preventing the deportations under this act, with a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit scheduled to hear arguments on the matter.
The Tren de Aragua gang, a narco-terrorism enterprise based in Venezuela, was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Department of State on February 20. The U.S. is committed to working expeditiously to return these individuals to Chile to face justice for their crimes. The efforts to extradite these gang members underscore the commitment to combat transnational crime and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.
