"Sending Tens of Thousands of Criminals to the U.S."
Tariffs to Take Effect on April 2
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 24th (local time) that he would impose a 25% tariff on all trading partners purchasing oil and gas from Venezuela, claiming that the country is sending tens of thousands of criminals to the United States.
On the same day, President Trump stated on his social networking service (SNS) Truth Social, which he created, "The tariff will be implemented on April 2, 2025, the Day of American Liberation." He explained that this measure would be simultaneously enforced on the next month's 2nd, the date he previously referred to as the "Day of Liberation" when announcing mutual tariffs.
He said, "One of the many reasons for imposing 'secondary tariffs' on Venezuela is the fact that Venezuela deliberately and deceitfully disguised and sent tens of thousands of high-ranking and other criminals to the United States," adding, "Many of them are murderers with very violent tendencies." He further claimed that among the gangs Venezuela sent to the U.S. is the 'Tren de Aragua,' designated as an international criminal organization. Tren de Aragua is a notorious international drug trafficking and violent group in Venezuela with thousands of members.
President Trump said, "We are in the process of sending them back to Venezuela, which is a tremendous challenge," and added, "Moreover, Venezuela is very hostile to the United States and the freedom we support."
Accelerating the deportation of illegal immigrants, President Trump previously invoked the "Hostile Nations Nationality Act" authority to deport about 260 members of the Tren de Aragua to a detention facility in El Salvador. The White House stated, "This organization operates alongside the drug terror enterprise supported by the Nicol?s Maduro regime in Venezuela and is fomenting unrest in democratic countries including the United States."
The Maduro regime's failure to ensure fairness in the Venezuelan presidential election held in July last year is also cited as a background for this measure. President Maduro declared victory in last year's election and began his third term in January this year, but the United States does not recognize the election results.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves of any single country, but its production capacity has been limited due to U.S. sanctions and lack of investment. Currently, South Korea does not import oil from Venezuela.
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