The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) expresses its strongest rejection and condemnation of the decision of the United States government to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law that has only been used in war contexts and is now being used arbitrarily to justify a systematic persecution against the Venezuelan migrant community.
This proclamation, which has no legal basis and is grounded on fabricated allegations, constitutes a serious attack against the principles of International Law and human rights. Its objective is to stigmatize, criminalize and subject the Venezuelan diaspora to collective punishment, denying them their right to defense and forcing them to arbitrary expulsions, expropriation of their assets and the violent separation of their families.
Even more alarming is the use of third countries as extrajudicial detention centers, which represents a crime against humanity. The recent deportation of 238 Venezuelans to El Salvador, without trial or due process, and their confinement in a high security detention center, constitutes a mass kidnapping, with the complicity of the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, and led by the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who have publicly confessed their participation in this illegal operation. This action sets an unfortunate precedent that violates the sovereignty of States and undermines the dignity of Venezuelan men, women and children.
ALBA-TCP denounces that this racist and xenophobic policy represents an attack against Venezuela and all of Latin America and the Caribbean, by introducing a dangerous mechanism of transnational repression that can be applied against any other people in the region. The nations of the Global South cannot remain silent in the face of this outrage, which recalls the darkest stages of recent history, when the use of discriminatory laws justified segregation, persecution and the suppression of fundamental rights.
In view of this serious situation, ALBA-TCP urges the international community to take a firm stand against this policy of aggression, and reiterates its unwavering support for the people and Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. As the founding leaders of our Alliance understood, only the unity and resistance of the peoples will be able to stop the forces of intolerance and arbitrariness that today threaten our sovereignty and regional stability.
Caracas, March 17, 2025