Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang threatening America

Tren de Aragua, or TdA, has become one of the most feared and dangerous transnational gangs in the Americas. Notorious for its long history of criminal organizations ranging from drug cartels to gangs and crime syndicates, Latin America has been struggling for years with this extremely dangerous Venezuelan gang that has become a regional threat.

The gang, which originated in the Aragua Penitentiary Center in Venezuela, has rapidly expanded across Latin America by taking advantage of migration flows, and now poses a serious security threat to major cities across the subcontinent, including the US.

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Straight out of prison, the origins of Tren de Aragua

Tren de Aragua was founded by Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, a Venezuelan criminal born in Maracay, Aragua State, in 1983. Known as “Niño Guerrero” (Warrior Child), Hector Guerrero began his criminal career as a teenager, first as a drug trafficker and later as a hitman. He was imprisoned in 2010 for murder and drug trafficking, but managed to escape in 2012, only to be recaptured a few months later in 2013. During this second incarceration, he formed Tren de Aragua, an alliance between several criminal gangs present in the Penitentiary Center of Aragua, known as Tocoron Prison.

From there, Tren de Aragua gradually expanded its operations throughout Venezuela, particularly in Caracas and other major cities. Within a few years, Tren de Aragua became the most powerful criminal organization in Venezuela, controlling the country’s drug trafficking routes, particularly to Trinidad and Tobago, a major transit point for cocaine bound for the U.S. and Europe.

Venezuelan Authorities and the Rise of Tren de Aragua

Behind the gang’s impressive rise lies the failure and complicity of the Venezuelan government. Venezuela’s prison system has been in crisis for decades, with prisons increasingly falling under the control of criminal gangs, a situation that worsened under President Nicolas Maduro. Faced with a severe economic crisis and a state bankruptcy that led to a crisis of legitimacy, Nicolas Maduro’s government was forced to collaborate with the criminal underworld to maintain its precarious position of power. To that end, during the 2018 protests, the government ensured that criminal gangs, including Tren de Aragua, repressed the protesters. In return, Tren de Aragua was allowed to expand and continue its criminal activities.

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A striking example of this collusion is Tocoron Prison itself. Reminiscent of Pablo Escobar’s notorious prison, ‘La Catedral’, the prison has been converted into a criminal resort, complete with a swimming pool, a games room, a baseball field, and even ATMs, a zoo, and a locally famous nightclub, ‘Tokyo’. These forms of entertainment were financed by extorting other prisoners, charging US$15 per week and additional fees for using the facilities of the resort-like prison.

A regional expansion

From his headquarters in Tocoron, Niño Guerrero also expanded his gang’s operations throughout South America. Tren de Aragua took advantage of the Venezuelan exodus and infiltrated migrant flows to set up local cells in various host countries, notably Colombia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, as well as Brazil and Panama. Within ten years, Tren de Aragua transformed from a local prison gang into a transnational criminal organization.

As such, the Venezuelan gang engages in a wide range of illegal activities, including drug trafficking, sexual exploitation, recruitment networks, contraband, illegal mining, and arms sales. However, extortion stands out as one of its most visible and damaging activities. Tren de Aragua members specialize in intimidating individuals and business owners to extort money, using brutal methods such as blackmail, gun attacks, kidnapping, and torture to achieve their goals.

Although the gang operates primarily through the Venezuelan diaspora, with a reported 7,000 members outside Venezuela, it has begun to collaborate with more established organizations in host countries. For example, Tren de Aragua has reportedly become an arms supplier to the Brazilian criminal syndicate Primeiro Comando da Capital.

The Fall of Tocoron Prison

After years of inaction and pressure from neighboring countries, Venezuelan authorities finally decided to take action against the criminal gang. On September 20, 2023, 11,000 soldiers and police officers took control of the Tocoron prison to restore order and attempt to capture Niño Guerrero. The operation exposed the incredible living conditions of the prisoners and resulted in the seizure of hundreds of weapons, including grenades, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition. However, Venezuelan authorities failed to arrest Hector Guerrero, whose current whereabouts are unknown. Although it is believed that he has fled to Peru or Chile, other sources suggest that the gang leader is still in Venezuela.

Tren de Aragua in the US

While the police-military operation has disrupted the gang’s activities, Tren de Aragua remains fully operational and active in Venezuela and other Latin American countries. Recently, FBI Special Agent Britton Boyd revealed that Tren de Aragua had successfully infiltrated the United States through illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. Several members of the organization have been arrested and are known for their extremely violent methods, including assaulting police officers.

Tren de Aragua recently made headlines when a group of five gang members were caught on camera breaking down doors and seizing apartments in Aurora, Colorado.

Governor Greg Abbott declared the Venezuelan gang a “foreign terrorist organization” and a “deadly threat to Texas and the United States.” During a public press conference, the governor announced major measures to combat the Tren de Aragua, which he said is destabilizing public safety through brutal violence, murder, kidnapping, extortion, bribery, weapons, drug and human trafficking.

Related: Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua Gang ‘Deadly Threat to Texas and the U.S.,’ Gov. Abbott Says

Aragua Route in Colombia

Tren de Aragua has been active in Colombia since 2020, quickly gaining national attention for its brutal methods and several murders of rival Venezuelan gang members. Colombia is indeed a prime target for criminal organizations, as it lies at the crossroads of the various regions where Tren de Aragua has established itself. Currently, Tren de Aragua has a strong presence in Bogota, Cucuta, Villa del Rosario, and Ipiales, cities with significant Venezuelan communities. Given the extensive and developed nature of Colombia’s criminal underworld, the Venezuelan gang’s strategy vis-à-vis existing organizations varies by local context.

Along the Colombia-Venezuela border, Tren de Aragua has clashed with the far-left guerrilla group ELN over illegal cross-border trafficking. A similar situation is currently playing out in Bogota, where Tren de Aragua has established a significant presence. The capital city, with its eight million inhabitants, offers numerous opportunities for criminal groups due to its size. With Bogota being home to half a million Venezuelans, the gang has easily expanded into the city and is now battling Colombian criminal organizations, particularly the Golf Clan (Clan del Golfo), for control of neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. As such, the widespread murders and extortion activities by the Venezuelan gang are among the main causes of the recent increase in crime in Bogota.

The Misadventures of Tren de Aragua in Medellin

On the other hand, Tren de Aragua has adapted its strategy when confronted with more powerful local criminal syndicates. In such cases, the Venezuelan gang acts as a contractor for other larger organizations to gradually establish itself without the risk of a deadly confrontation. This approach has been observed in Medellin and its metropolitan area, Valle de Aburra.

Indeed, Tren de Aragua has struggled to establish a territorial presence in Medellin, as it has in Bogota, largely because of the city’s extremely strong local criminal network, which includes dozens of gangs. The historical connections and strong relationships within Medellin’s criminal organizations make it difficult for foreign criminal groups to enter the scene.

Although the Venezuelan gang has a presence in the city, it has so far failed to reach an agreement with the city’s main criminal organization, the Oficina de Envigado, which was founded during the Pablo Escobar era as a wing of the Medellin Cartel. However, rumors suggest that the Venezuelan criminals have been hired by ‘El Mesa’, a powerful criminal group based in Bello, a city north of Medellin.

An uncertain future

It is difficult to predict the future of the Venezuelan gang: is it destined to disappear, or will it become an established player in regional organized crime? Either way, Tren de Aragua currently poses a serious threat to Colombia and Latin America, but it is not the only one.

The criminal actions of Venezuelan gangsters, whether it is extortion, murder, sexual exploitation or begging networks, have considerably tarnished the image of the Venezuelan diaspora. In fact, Venezuelan migrants themselves are the first victims of the organization and its springboard for expanding its criminal activities abroad.

Related: The Venezuelan Drug Cartel de los Soles: Myth or Reality?