Codepink feminist movement: Using the law to deport Venezuelans is an illegal attack

Published at: 21/03/2025 06:01 PM

The American feminist movement Codepink, through a statement, pointed out that the use of the Foreign Enemies Act by the administration led by Donald Trump to deport Venezuelans is an illegal, racist and politically motivated attack on human rights.

The letter was released by the Deputy Minister of Latin America, Rander Peña, through the Telegram channel, where Codepink highlighted: “Trump has opened the door to mass expulsions of Venezuelans, people who fled a crisis that the United States helped create through brutal economic sanctions.”

Authorities of the US movement point out that the president has deported 234 Venezuelans, despite the federal judge's order blocking this action, “classifying them as enemy nationals, Venezuelans as young as 14 are at risk of being declared terrorists without evidence, without trial and without legal protection.”

Codepink: Venezuela has the right to examine expelled people

In addition, Codepink highlighted that the cruelty of the Trump administration continued with the signing of a six million dollar agreement with the authoritarian government of El Salvador to imprison deported Venezuelan migrants for at least a year without due process. “They are being sent to a prison system known for human rights abuses and more than 300 reported deaths,” the statement quoted.

They affirm that the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has every right to carefully examine people who are expelled by U.S. authorities, especially given the political motivations behind these deportations, it has a long history of supporting violent actors to incite riots in the South American country.

Here, the full statement:

Codepink press release

The Trump administration's use of the Foreign Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans is an illegal, racist and politically motivated attack on human rights. By invoking a wartime law last used to intern Japanese Americans during World War II, Trump has opened the door to mass expulsions of Venezuelans, people who fled a crisis that the United States helped create through brutal economic sanctions.

By using the Foreign Enemies Act to expel any Venezuelan from the United States, classifying them as “enemy nationals,” Venezuelans as young as 14 are at risk of being declared terrorists, without evidence, without trial and without legal protection. This is not immigration policy, this is dehumanization and kidnapping.

But the cruelty doesn't stop there. The Trump administration has signed a $6 million agreement with the authoritarian government of El Salvador to imprison deported Venezuelans for at least a year without due process, evidence or trial. Migrants who are being deported have not been convicted of any crime, but under the Bukele regime's mass incarceration policies, they are being sent to a prison system known for human rights abuses and more than 300 reported deaths.

This policy does not make the United States safer. It's a racist, xenophobic and politically motivated operation designed to promote Trump's campaign rhetoric and expand his illegal crackdown on immigrants.

Although Venezuela has agreed to recover the deported from the United States, Trump has criticized Venezuela for not accelerating their return. But Venezuela has every right to carefully examine people who are expelled by the United States, especially given the political motivations behind these deportations. The United States has a long history of supporting violent actors to incite riots in Venezuela, from funding and training opposition groups involved in coup attempts to open support for violent street protests known as guarimbas. No sovereign nation should be expected to accept deported persons without transparency and due process. For Venezuela, ensuring that those returned do not represent a renewed threat to national stability is not just a right, it's a necessity.

Trump's policies systematically target Venezuelans at all stages: first, through economic sanctions against Venezuela that create the same conditions that force migration and then criminalizing and deporting those who flee. Now, with plans to implement a travel ban under a “red level” designation, his administration seeks to cut off Venezuelans completely, denying them the right to asylum, separating families and blocking cultural, academic and professional exchanges.

This is a war against Venezuelans, both inside and outside their country.

We refuse to remain silent while Trump uses deportations as a political weapon.

Us from:

1. An immediate end to all deportations of Venezuelans under the Foreign Enemies Act and the termination of Trump's illegal deportation scheme.

2. A complete cancellation of the U.S. agreement with El Salvador that funds the indefinite detention of Venezuelans in Bukele prisons.

3. The revocation of Trump's revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans and the reinstatement of humanitarian protections.

4. The lifting of all U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, sanctions that have fueled forced migration and humanitarian suffering.

5. The end of the criminalization of Venezuelan migrants and the rejection of the travel ban proposed by Trump and aimed at Venezuelans.

6. An immediate congressional investigation into Trump's abuse of the Foreign Enemies Act, his administration's challenge to court orders, and the outsourcing of the detention of U.S. migrants to an authoritarian foreign government

Mazo News Team