
Two U.S. intelligence officials were fired after downplaying Venezuela’s link to a violent gang, triggering backlash and revelations from a defector accusing Maduro of running state-backed criminal warfare.
At a Glance
- DNI Tulsi Gabbard fired two senior intelligence officials for politicizing analysis on Venezuelan gang activity.
- Former Lt. Colonel José Arocha says the Tren de Aragua gang operates as a Maduro-controlled hybrid warfare tool.
- Arocha alleges Venezuela’s prisons are criminal headquarters with regime protection.
- The NIC’s disputed report contradicted Trump’s claim that Venezuela is exporting gang violence into the U.S.
- Critics warn the intelligence community is undermining national security to protect political narratives.
Spy Shake-Up Over Venezuela Report
A firestorm erupted in Washington this week after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard dismissed two senior analysts from the National Intelligence Council (NIC), accusing them of politicizing intelligence to discredit warnings about Venezuelan gang activity. The ousted officials, acting director Mike Collins and deputy Maria Langan-Riekhof, had issued a controversial memo claiming that dictator Nicolás Maduro’s ties to the Tren de Aragua gang were “unlikely.”
The timing was pivotal—President Donald Trump had invoked the Alien Enemies Act to justify deportations of Venezuelan gang members. The NIC report’s conclusions directly contradicted his claims, prompting suspicion that intelligence was being shaped to undermine border enforcement. Gabbard’s office said the firings were meant to purge “Biden holdovers” protecting political narratives.
According to NextGov, Senator Mark Warner condemned the purge, warning it risked politicizing national security decisions. But for critics, Warner’s response ignored the deeper issue: why top analysts ignored or dismissed growing evidence of Maduro’s criminal statecraft.
Arocha: Tren de Aragua Is State-Backed Warfare
Enter José Arocha, a former Venezuelan military officer who claims the U.S. intelligence community is dangerously naïve—or willfully blind—about Tren de Aragua. Speaking to Fox News, Arocha said the gang is not just a criminal enterprise but part of Maduro’s hybrid warfare strategy targeting Western democracies.
Arocha described Venezuelan prisons like Tocorón as “luxury command centers” for organized crime, protected by the state. He also accused the Maduro regime of staging a 2023 prison raid as a cover for letting gang leaders escape—with the regime’s blessing—to continue their operations.
This aligns with findings in a Politico investigation, which revealed internal disputes within the intelligence community over how aggressively to assess and present Maduro’s ties to organized crime.
Beyond Gangs: A Criminal Proxy for U.S. Adversaries?
According to Arocha, the threat extends beyond domestic gang violence. He links the Maduro regime to Hezbollah, Hamas, and criminal networks tied to Iran, Russia, and China—using groups like Tren de Aragua to destabilize the Western Hemisphere. These allegations, if validated, suggest Venezuela is functioning as a geopolitical proxy for America’s enemies, using crime as a weapon.
Despite the gravity of these claims, intelligence leaders dismissed them, opting for what critics call sanitized political analysis. NIC veteran Jonathan Panikoff defended the council, saying it represents “apolitical all-source analysis” built on consensus. But critics argue consensus means little if the facts are filtered through partisan lenses.
The intelligence community now faces deep skepticism. If its top analysts failed—or refused—to connect Maduro to the very gang U.S. cities are now struggling to contain, it raises urgent questions about what other threats might be underestimated or buried for political convenience.