What is Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang targeted by Trump?

In September 2023, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro took a bold step by sending 11,000 soldiers to the Tocorón Prison located in the northern state of Aragua. This was not a response to a riot but rather an effort to regain control of the prison from a notorious gang that had transformed it into a lavish resort-like facility. The gang, known as Tren de Aragua, had created an environment complete with a zoo, restaurants, a nightclub, a betting shop, and even a swimming pool. However, during this operation, the gang's leader, Hector Guerrero Flores, managed to escape. Now, Tren de Aragua has become a focal point in President Donald Trump's campaign to remove foreign criminals from the United States, as part of his promise to carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants. So, what exactly is Tren de Aragua? Originally, Tren de Aragua began as a prison gang, but under the leadership of Hector Guerrero Flores, it evolved into a 'transnational criminal organization,' according to the U. S. State Department, which is currently offering a reward of $5 million for information leading to his capture. Guerrero Flores, who is 41 years old, has spent more than a decade in and out of Tocorón. He escaped in 2012 by bribing a guard but was rearrested in 2013. Upon his return, he turned the prison into a leisure complex and expanded the gang's influence beyond the prison walls, taking control of gold mines in Bolivar state, drug trafficking routes along the Caribbean coast, and illegal border crossings between Venezuela and Colombia. The name Tren de Aragua translates to 'Train of Aragua,' possibly derived from a railroad workers' union that once extorted contractors and sold jobs on construction sites. Under Guerrero Flores's leadership, the gang has expanded its operations into Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, diversifying from extorting migrants to engaging in sex trafficking, contract killings, and kidnappings. How extensive is the gang's reach? Tren de Aragua is believed to have spread beyond Venezuela as the country faced a humanitarian and economic crisis starting in 2014, which made crime less profitable. The gang is now thought to have connections in eight other countries, including the United States. They often form alliances with local criminal organizations to operate more effectively. For instance, in Ecuador, they are believed to collaborate with groups associated with Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, while in Colombia, there are claims of cooperation with members of the left-wing National Liberation Army guerrilla group, known as ELN. Ronna Rísquez, a journalist who has extensively researched the gang, estimated that Tren de Aragua has around 5,000 members and generates annual profits ranging from $10 million to $15 million. Other estimates suggest that the membership could be about half that number. A prosecutor in Chile has described Tren de Aragua as a 'brutal organization' that employs murder and torture to achieve its goals. While it may be smaller or less wealthy than other criminal groups in Latin America, Tren de Aragua is often compared to the extremely violent MS-13 gang from El Salvador. Members of Tren de Aragua have been accused of disguising themselves as Chilean police officers to kidnap a Venezuelan military officer, Ronald Ojeda, whose body was discovered buried in Santiago, Chile, in March 2024. The U. S. Treasury, under President Joe Biden, imposed sanctions on Tren de Aragua last summer, citing their involvement in sex trafficking across the U. S. border. Is there a real threat to the United States? Recently, Trump invoked the 18th Century Alien Enemies Act, accusing Tren de Aragua of 'perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion of predatory incursion against the territory of the United States. ' He claimed that the gang was engaged in 'irregular warfare' against the U. S. at the behest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Shortly after taking office in January, Trump also designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, placing them in the same category as the Islamic State and Boko Haram, the Islamist militants from Nigeria. In states like Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois, alleged members of Tren de Aragua have been arrested in recent months, facing charges ranging from murder to kidnapping. For instance, two suspects arrested for assaulting a police officer in Times Square were believed to be affiliated with the gang, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Additionally, a Tren de Aragua member is suspected of being involved in the kidnapping and murder of a 48-year-old Venezuelan man in Florida in early 2024, as reported by local media. Last summer, NBC News revealed that the Department of Homeland Security estimated that around 600 Venezuelan migrants in the U. S. had connections to the gang, with approximately 100 believed to be actual members. As of 2023, there were about 770,000 Venezuelans living in the U. S. , making up nearly 2% of all immigrants in the country, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Most of these individuals have been granted protected status by the U. S. government. Customs and Border Protection reported encountering 313,500 Venezuelan migrants at the border in 2024. Trump has frequently stated that Venezuela's crime rate has dropped to record lows because the country 'emptied out its prisons' by sending migrants to the U. S. Statistics from the Venezuelan Violence Observatory suggest that this may be partially true, as the murder rate in Venezuela has significantly decreased between 2015 and 2023. Some analysts believe that waves of migration, including gang members, have contributed to an improved security situation in Venezuelan cities.