The U.S. Department of Justice announced it had charged nearly 30 alleged Tren De Aragua (TdA) gang members with racketeering, sex trafficking, drug trafficking, robbery and firearms offenses.
In two superseding indictments, the DOJ said those charged were either alleged members of TdA, or members of Anti-Tren, a splinter faction of the gang. Of the 27 defendants, 21 are in federal custody, and five who were arrested recently. Sixteen of those in custody are in federal criminal, immigration or state custody, the announcement said, but did not make clear where those arrested were located.
“As alleged, Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang – it is a highly structured terrorist organization that has destroyed American families with brutal violence, engaged in human trafficking, and spread deadly drugs through our communities,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “Today’s indictments and arrests span three states and will devastate TdA’s infrastructure as we work to completely dismantle and purge this organization from our country.”
According to the DOJ, the gang members allegedly committed murders and shootings, sex trafficked women to Venezuela, robbed and extorted small businesses and sold ‘tusi, a pink powdery drug.
“Tren de Aragua is one of the most dangerous gangs in the country, and the NYPD has taken significant action to shut down their operations in New York City,” New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “For the first time ever, TdA is being named and charged as the criminal enterprise that it is. This isn’t just street crime—it’s organized racketeering, and this gang has shown zero regard for the safety of New Yorkers. As alleged in the indictment, these defendants wreaked havoc in our communities, trafficking women for sexual exploitation, flooding our streets with drugs, and committing violent crimes with illegal guns.”
If convicted, the alleged gang members face between 15 years and life in prison on the various charges. The investigation into the gang members started as part of Joint Task Force Vulcan, created in 2019 to target MS-13 gang members. The task force was responsible for apprehending and arresting several of the high-ranking operatives within MS-13 in 2023. The task force was later expanded to target Tren de Aragua.