Castro Says Gabbard Misrepresented Intelligence on Venezuela and TDA

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D) and Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes (D), members of the House Intelligence Committee, have accused Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard (R) of misrepresenting intelligence on Venezuela and Tren de Aragua (TDA).

Ranking Member Himes and Rep. Castro are demanding answers from the DNI after the recent declassification of a memorandum that contradicts her public statements about Venezuela’s ties to the criminal organization TDA.

The redacted April 7, 2025, Intelligence Community (IC) memorandum, which was released following a Freedom of Information Act request, concludes that “the Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA operations in the United States.”

This conclusion contradicts prior assertions by the Trump Administration linking Venezuela’s government directly to criminal activity on domestic land.

In a joint statement, Rep. Castro and Ranking Member Himes said they were pleased the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the redacted report and emphasized the importance of transparency.

“This assessment reinforces the finding of a District Court judge last week that the Administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act with respect to Tren de Aragua was illegal,” the lawmakers stated.

They further criticized the DNI for potentially misleading the public.

“Now that the public can read the Intelligence Community’s analysis… Director Gabbard should explain why her public descriptions of this intelligence failed to correspond with the IC’s findings,” the statement reads. “Misrepresenting intelligence in public causes grave damage to the IC and to the national security.”

Further commenting on the request through social media, Rep. Castro shared that “the DNI needs to connect the dots and explain why we were lied to. We were publicly told a different story than what the IC found.”