Trump Says They’re Foreign Gang Members. Are They?

04/23/25 • 29 min

12 Listeners

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of Venezuelan migrants by quickly labeling them as gang members and foreign enemies, and boarding them on planes to El Salvador. It’s sidestepping their rights to a court hearing where anyone might be able to scrutinize the claims against them.

As a result, very little has been known about who these men are, or how they were targeted by immigration officials. Until now.

Julie Turkewitz, the Andes bureau chief for The New York Times, explains who was actually on those planes, and discusses the secretive process that led to their deportations.

Guest: Julie Turkewitz, the Andes bureau chief for The New York Times, based in Bogotá, Colombia.

Background reading:

Inside President Trump’s rushed effort to deport 238 migrants.
The government is relying more on tattoos to identify gang members. Experts say that’s unreliable.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Photo: Alex Peña/Getty Images

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

As a result, very little has been known about who these men are, or how they were targeted by immigration officials. Until now.

Julie Turkewitz, the Andes bureau chief for The New York Times, explains who was actually on those planes, and discusses the secretive process that led to their deportations.

Guest: Julie Turkewitz, the Andes bureau chief for The New York Times, based in Bogotá, Colombia.

Background reading:

Inside President Trump’s rushed effort to deport 238 migrants.
The government is relying more on tattoos to identify gang members. Experts say that’s unreliable.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Photo: Alex Peña/Getty Images

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Previous Episode

How Pope Francis Changed the Catholic Church

2 Recommendations

Church bells rang out across the world on Monday to mark the death of Pope Francis at the age of 88.

Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief at The New York Times, discusses the pope’s push to change the church, his bitter clashes with traditionalists, and what his papacy meant to the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Guest: Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief of The New York Times.

Background reading:

For Jason Horowitz, Pope Francis was always a surprise.
Francis’ death silences a voice for the voiceless.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Photo: Andrew Medichini/Associated Press

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Next Episode

What an Iowa Farmer Fears About the Trade War

In the increasingly bitter trade war between the United States and China, perhaps nobody has more at stake than America’s soybean farmers, whose crop has become the country’s single biggest export to China.

Michael Barbaro speaks to an Iowa farmer who helped build that $13 billion market, and asks her what President Trump’s sky-high tariffs mean for her and for tens of thousands of other American farmers.

Guest: April Hemmes, a soybean farmer in Iowa.

Background reading:

Soybean producers warned that farms could go under after the Trump administration hit China with tariffs of 145 percent.
China has long relied on the U.S. for soybeans. But with new steep tariffs, it is likely to look even more to Brazil and Argentina.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Photo: Kathryn Gamble for The New York Times

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.