Tren de Aragua

Tren de Aragua
Tren de Aragua
Founded2009–2010
Founding locationAragua, Venezuela
Territory
Membership5,000+
Leader(s)Niño Guerrero
ActivitiesMurder, Protection racketeering, drug-trafficking, human-trafficking, Forced prostitution, human smuggling, kidnappings-for-ransom, retail theft, robbery, illegal mining, bribery, and money laundering[1][2]
AlliesPrimeiro Comando da Capital

Tren de Aragua (Spanish pronunciation: [tɾen de aˈɾaɣwa]; English: Aragua Train) is a transnational criminal organization from Venezuela. It is believed to have over 5,000 members.[3] Tren de Aragua is led by Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias "Niño Guerrero [es]"; he was incarcerated in Tocorón prison [es], which functioned as the organization's de facto headquarters. The gang has since expanded throughout Latin America and the United States due to the Venezuelan refugee crisis, with the growth of the gang following the migration of Venezuelans to host nations.[3][4] Due to the severity of its crimes, combating the gang has become a priority to many nations where Tren de Aragua has entered.[3] Though Tocorón prison was taken by Venezuelan security forces in 2023, leadership escaped and the gang's activities continue to this day.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference nytSep22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Klug, Johann (22 August 2022). ""Los Malditos del Tren de Aragua", la organización criminal que opera en Perú y que tiene más de 2.500 miembros". Infobae (in European Spanish).
  3. ^ a b c "La megabanda delictiva el Tren de Aragua ya está en ciudades de EE.UU. como Chicago y Miami: qué se sabe y qué implica" [The Tren de Aragua mega-criminal gang is already in US cities such as Chicago and Miami: what is known and what it entails]. Telemundo (in Spanish). 26 January 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  4. ^ Chavez Yacila, Rosa; Castile, Oscar; Cardenas, Abel; Huaman, Gianfranco (11 August 2023). "Tren de Aragua: expansión y evolución de una megafranquicia del crimen en América Latina" [Tren de Aragua: Expansion and evolution of a mega crime franchise in Latin America]. Ojo Público (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2024.