Supporters of Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado hold their pictures during a campaign rally in Maracaibo, Zulia state, Venezuela, on July 23, 2024. (Raul Arboldea/AFP via Getty Images)
Arocha, who is now a senior fellow for the U.S.-based Center for a Secure Free Society, told Fox News Digital that "if Maduro remains in power, he will likely use the Tren de Aragua as a tool for coercion and asymmetric tactics to achieve his objectives."
"Migration, weaponized with elements of the Tren de Aragua, will serve as leverage to seek the easing of economic sanctions and to gain legitimacy from the United States," he said. "Repression, economic collapse and chaos in Venezuela will continue to be cornerstones of Maduro's state policy. As a result, migrants who are deported will likely return, as in recent years they have established logistical routes that enable them to navigate clandestine pathways along the southern border."
Alberto Ray, a security and risk strategist who helps handle security for Machado, told Fox News Digital that the situation in Venezuela is "extremely explosive." He said that "more Maduro is more Tren de Aragua in the U.S."
President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference after testifying before the electoral chamber at the main headquarters of the Supreme Court of Justice at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on Aug. 2, 2024. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
While he said that both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration have been very supportive, Ray urged the U.S. to take a strong stance against Maduro not only for the sake of the Venezuelans but for Americans as well. He urged the U.S. government to shed light on what is happening in Venezuela and to strictly enforce already-existing sanctions against Maduro and several members of his government.
He said that "the next 72 hours are going to be critical."
"Maduro has nobody supporting him but some factions inside the armed forces, and he's counting on those factions to support him and make him president," Ray explained, adding, "There are not two sides here. There is a huge Venezuelan side that is democratic, and they are looking and trying to get back democracy. And there is a tiny group that is in power that is desperately fighting to keep their privileges and to keep their position in power."
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/weaponized-migration-us-faces-deadly-consequences-maduro-in-power-venezuelan-opposition-warns