Written by: La Tabla/Data Journalism Platform February 19, 2026
Joseph M. Humire, the current Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs, has become a key figure in the Trump administration’s narrative about Venezuela. An investigation by InSight Crime revealed that prior to this position, Humire led a think tank that spread false information about the Tren de Aragua to inflate its alleged threat.
1. Combat veteran with a hawkish profile
Humire is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, having participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in multinational exercises in Latin America. His military experience and his Economics training at George Mason University solidified his profile as a “expert” in regional security.
2. A decade at the helm of a hardline think tank
Before joining the Pentagon in 2025, he served as executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS), a Washington D.C.-based think tank focused on security threats in the Americas, with a hardline stance against Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and the influences of Russia, Iran, and China.
3. The activity monitor that contained fabricated events
Under his leadership, the SFS published an “activity monitor” for Tren de Aragua that allegedly tracked the gang’s crimes in the U.S. The InSight Crime investigation identified at least five events in that record that were completely fabricated.
4. The false case of San Antonio: an arrest that never happened
On March 10, 2025, just a day before Humire testified before Congress, the monitor reported the arrest of an alleged Tren de Aragua member in San Antonio. Local police confirmed there were no records of that individual or the incident.
5. Another fabricated case in Austin with the same pattern
On March 18, 2025, the monitor recorded another false event: the arrest of a gang member in Austin for a knife attack. Austin Police denied having any reports of that incident.
6. Fake news with a suspicious pattern and timing
The five unverified events follow the same pattern: they are localized in Texas, citing non-existent journalistic sources. Many other entries relied on unverified social media or partisan sources, artificially exaggerating the gang’s presence.
7. Congressional testimony with unverified information
Humire used his position and the data from his monitor—including the false events—to testify before Congress on March 11, 2025. He presented Tren de Aragua as an organized threat linked to Nicolás Maduro’s government, aligning with the narrative the Trump administration sought to promote.
In December 2024, he prepared a report for The Heritage Foundation titled “Derailing the Tren de Aragua,” where he claimed that the gang was a “product of Venezuelan government policies” and a “tool of asymmetric warfare.” This report became the basis for designating TdA as a terrorist organization and justifying mass deportations.
9. The SFS’s response: “we will correct” (but they didn’t)
When InSight Crime alerted the current SFS director about the false events, he responded that they would work to correct it. However, at the time of publishing the analysis, only one of the five events had been removed from the record.
10. Contradictions even within U.S. intelligence
In May 2025, two veteran intelligence analysts were fired after drafting a memorandum dismissing claims that Maduro’s government directed Tren de Aragua, contradicting the official version that Humire helped construct. InSight Crime concludes that “there is no evidence of a unified national network” of TdA in the U.S. nor “solid evidence that the Venezuelan government directs the activities of gang members.”
The last report on February 18, 2026, Humire accompanied the new commander of Southcom, General Francis L. Donovan, on a visit to Caracas, where they held meetings with “Venezuelan interim authorities” alongside Ambassador Laura Dogu, as confirmed by the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela.
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Main Source: InSight Crime investigation replicated by multiple international media outlets.