By: Staff Writer
September 12, 2025
Director of National Intelligence in the US, Tulsi Gabbard, recalled a classified memo on Venezuela leading up to the September 2 air strike of a suspected narco-boat by US military.
The controversial report also claimed that president Donald Trump’s claim the air strike was justified by Trump invoking a wartime statute to summarily deport Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador.
The report examines the potential impact of Venezuelan policy on regional security, the country’s economy, and prospects for Caracas’s cooperation with other countries, with an emphasis on partners in the Caribbean Basin.
In her statement, Gabbard emphasized that the ability to make the material more accessible is a step toward transparency and accountability to the public and to lawmakers, which has usually remained behind closed doors.
The report said: “Some regime officials are probably willing to capitalize on migration flows for personal financial or other benefits, even though the Maduro regime probably is not systematically directing Venezuelan outflows, such as to sow chaos in receiving countries. The intelligence record indicates Venezuelans have migrated voluntarily, often at great personal risk, to flee political instability and near-collapse of Venezuela’s economy.
On the other hand, a senior intelligence official told CNN that the report, the general contents of which were described to CNN, was withdrawn over concerns about protecting a person’s civil liberties and privacy. The National Security Agency report, the person said, made a person’s identity obvious, although the substance was about Richard Grenell’s diplomatic work as special envoy and was not derogatory.
Republican officials have long raised concerns about “unmasking” people’s identities in intelligence reports, feeling the common practice has been used to target and embarrass them by Democratic administrations. CNN has not independently reviewed the report.
Shortly after Gabbard publicly addressed, the agency said it would discuss further steps on policy supporting democratic processes in Caribbean Basin countries and strengthening transparency between intelligence and the public.
Experts note that such a step could alter the dynamics of risk assessment and influence approaches to joint policy with Caribbean regional countries, improving interaction among intelligence, government, and the public.
Moreover, open access to classified information could push more well-founded decisions regarding strengthening cooperation with other countries in the region and adjusting strategies related to Venezuela and its allies.