Todd Blanche Takes Stephen Miller's Ham Sandwich to the Fifth Circuit - emptywheel

"The TdA inclusion here relies on a similar move, including its leader, Hector Ruthsenford Guerrero Flores as a co-conspirator. But his inclusion relies on two overt acts that don't involve Maduro: Guerrero's actual trafficking with someone not alleged to be part of this conspiracy, and comments made in a Venezuelan prison in 2019. (These may be the comments that US intelligence services have deemed to be unreliable.)"

"Between approximately 2006 and 2008, HECTOR RUSTHENFORD GUERRERO FLORES, a/k/a "Nifio Guerrero," the defendant, worked with one of the largest drug traffickers in Venezuela, Walid Makled. Members of the Venezuelan regime helped protect Makled's cocaine shipments that were transported from San Fernando de Apure, Venezuela, to Valencia, Venezuela, and were then sent by plane from the Valencia international airport to Mexico and other locations in Central America for eventual distribution to the United States."

Stephen Miller is expected to use a probable cause finding to renew efforts to pursue deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. Tren de Aragua's inclusion in Maduro's superseding indictment rests on thin allegations focused on its leader, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, rather than clear links to Maduro. The inclusion mirrors a past tactic used with FARC leaders but here relies on two overt acts that do not involve Maduro: Guerrero's past trafficking with unrelated individuals and comments from a 2019 Venezuelan prison that intelligence sources may find unreliable. The indictment alleges Guerrero provided protection and armed escorts for cocaine shipments routed through Venezuela to airports and onward to Mexico, Central America, and eventual distribution to the United States.

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