Trump Uses 1798 Law Against Venezuelan Gang, Orders JFK and MLK Files Released

President Donald Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798—an obscure wartime law—to target Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal gang, while also ordering the release of long-classified documents about the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

A 225-Year-Old Law Applied to Modern Crime

The White House has invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time ever against a criminal organization rather than a hostile nation. The proclamation describes Tren de Aragua's presence in the United States as an "invasion" under this 1798 statute, which allows presidents to detain, relocate, or remove foreign nationals during times of war or invasion.

Tren de Aragua started in a Venezuelan prison and has spread across Latin America—operating in Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Ecuador before establishing a foothold in the U.S. The gang engages in human trafficking, drug dealing, extortion, and violent crime in multiple American states.

This law has only been used three times before: in the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II. It typically requires either a declared war or an actual invasion by a foreign nation. Applying it to a criminal gang—rather than a country—is legally uncharted territory and will almost certainly face court challenges.

The proclamation gives federal agents broader powers to detain and deport Venezuelan nationals suspected of connections to the gang. Normally, immigrants are protected by due process rights and can go through standard court proceedings. This order sidesteps those protections.

The broader question here is whether a criminal organization, no matter how violent or transnational, fits the legal definition of an "invasion" as the founding generation understood it. Courts will likely wrestle with this question soon, since civil rights groups and immigration advocates are expected to challenge the order in federal court.

Decades-Old Mystery Files to Be Released

At the same time, Trump signed an order requiring the full release of documents related to the Kennedy and King assassinations. The order gives agencies 15 days to create a plan for releasing all materials.

The Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 set a deadline of October 2017 for releasing all documents. But presidents from both parties have repeatedly extended the withholding of some files, citing national security. The CIA and FBI said they needed to protect ongoing intelligence sources, keep foreign relationships confidential, and safeguard the privacy of people still living.

Trump ordered partial releases during his first presidency but the intelligence agencies pushed back. This new order explicitly rejects those national security claims and demands "full and complete release," including materials held by the CIA, FBI, Department of Defense, and other agencies.

The order also includes files about Robert F. Kennedy's assassination in 1968, which goes beyond what the 1992 law covered. Files on Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination were never legally required to be released, so their inclusion represents an extra step toward transparency.

Why this matters now: The tension between national security and public accountability is real. Intelligence agencies genuinely do protect sources and methods that are still relevant. But 50-plus years is a long time, and public interest in knowing what happened during two pivotal moments in American history has only grown. Intelligence officials will likely argue that certain documents still need to stay classified—and Trump's order will face resistance from within his own administration.

The Pentagon's UFO Effort Moves Forward

Separately, the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) continues its work analyzing Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena through its public web portal at aaro.mil. The office has published databases of cases it has resolved, official images, and analysis of trends in UFO sightings.

The office accepts reports from current and former U.S. military and government employees who have encountered unexplained phenomena. It publicly releases its findings, including detailed case studies and pattern analysis covering sightings in the air, at sea, in space, and underwater.

The Pentagon created AARO in 2022 to bring together UFO investigations from all military branches and intelligence agencies. It replaced an earlier Navy task force and expanded its scope to cover anomalies in every domain.

What These Moves Tell Us

Trump is using two very different tools—emergency powers and transparency mandates—at the same time. This combination echoes his first term approach: demonstrating both strength and openness through overlapping announcements. The strategy seems designed to appeal to different groups: those who want tougher border and crime enforcement, and those who believe government should reveal historical secrets.

Whether either order actually works depends on federal agencies cooperating and courts allowing them to proceed. The Tren de Aragua designation will require the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, and Justice Department to coordinate and identify people connected to the gang—a complex undertaking. The declassification order will demand that multiple agencies sift through thousands of files across different security systems, decide what can safely be released, and do it within tight deadlines.

The Alien Enemies Act question is the more legally precarious of the two. Courts have never had to decide whether a non-state criminal organization counts as an "invading force" under an 18th-century statute. Intelligence agencies will likely comply with the declassification order, even if reluctantly, but the first executive action may end up blocked by a judge before it fully takes effect. Both decisions will set precedents that go far beyond Trump's time in office, shaping how future presidents can use emergency powers and what they must disclose about the past.