Author: Analysis Team of La Tabla/Data Journalism Platform
Lie 1: «Maduro created the Tren de Aragua in 2010»
– Bondi’s claim:
«The Venezuelan regime funded and directed this organization to export crime» (Speech at Hudson Institute, 12/May/2025).
– Documented reality:
– Independent origin: Emerged in 2006 among workers of the Caracas-Puerto Cabello railway, according to the Congressional Research Service.
– DEA report (2023): Its expansion was due to “institutional voids,” not state orders.
– Operation in Tocorón (2023): The Venezuelan government dismantled its base and removed leaders like “El Conejo.”
– U.S. intelligence: Declassified memo confirms that “Maduro’s regime does not direct the Tren de Aragua” (Office of the Director of National Intelligence, May/2025).
Lie 2: «Conviasa transports cocaine for the Venezuelan state» (the term used was “air bridge” referring to a state airline)
– Bondi’s accusation:
Claimed that the state airline is “the logistical arm of drug trafficking” (DOJ press briefing, 3/July/2025).
– Nonexistent evidence:
– Alex Saab case (SDNY, 2024): No mention of Conviasa in 132 pages of indictment.
– DEA data (2025): Only 0.2% of cocaine seized in the U.S. had an aerial route from Venezuela.
– Exposed hypocrisy: In May 2025, the Treasury Department authorized Conviasa flights to repatriate Venezuelan migrants from the U.S.
Lie 3: «Venezuelan migrants are 300% more criminals»
– Bondi’s alarm:
Warned of an “invasion of criminals from the Tren de Aragua” on Fox News (25/April/2025).
– Real statistics:
– Migration Policy Institute (June/2025): Incarceration rate of Venezuelans in the U.S.: 0.89% (national average: 0.93%).
– Miami-Dade report (2025): Only 2.1% of arrests involved Venezuelans.
– Official designation: The State Department classified the Tren de Aragua as a criminal organization (TCO), not as a terrorist group (February/2025).
Lie 4: «Sanctions only affect the corrupt»
– Bondi’s justification:
Defended the measures as “surgical and humanitarian” (DOJ statement, 30/July/2025).
– Proven humanitarian impact:
– UN (April/2025): Blockage of USD $2.8 billion for COVID-19 vaccines and food in 2024.
– CEPAL (2025): 64% of the collapse of Venezuela’s GDP (2017-2025) is attributed to sanctions.
– Double standard: Chevron operates in Venezuela with special Treasury license (August/2025).
Conclusion: a narrative for hybrid war
Bondi’s narrative operates as media lawfare:
1. It weaponizes the judicial system to construct an enemy (“narco-state”) that legitimizes extraterritorial interventions.
2. It links migration with terrorism to apply the Foreign Enemies Act (1798), used to deport 5,000 Venezuelans in 4 months.
3. It ignores its own contradictions: While criminalizing Venezuela, the Trump administration negotiates with Maduro for the release of U.S. prisoners (June/2025).
This article relies on fact-checking with official U.S. documents (DEA, UN, MPI) and intelligence declassifications. Fake news is not just errors; they are unconventional war fare arsenal.
