The Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela is causing increasing worry in the United States, even though it seems that the group does not have a significant presence in the US and is unlikely to establish one.
Recently, US federal lawmakers requested President Joe Biden to declare Tren de Aragua a transnational criminal organization. They called the group an "invading criminal army," claiming that the gang's members have caused "brutality and chaos" in the United States.
A group of nearly two dozen lawmakers, all from the opposition Republican Party, wrote in a letter on March 14 that it is evident that most state and local law enforcement agencies are not yet ready to handle this serious threat. The request comes after several reports suggesting the possible presence of Tren de Aragua members in the United States, some with connections to isolated crimes..
Tren de Aragua: From Prison Gang to Transnational Criminal Enterprise
But the few crimes associated with alleged Tren de Aragua members in the United States seem to have no link with the larger group or its leadership in Venezuela. And more than a dozen national, state, and local law enforcement agencies contacted by InSight Crime have reported no significant presence of Tren de Aragua.
Two recent murders, loosely connected to Tren de Aragua, received widespread media attention and were highlighted in the Republican lawmakers' letter, even though neither killing appeared to be related to gang activities.
Flimsy Ties
The most recent one was the murder of Laken Riley, a university student in Georgia in February 2024. Federal prosecutors mentioned in a court filing that the alleged killer had tattoos, wore clothes, and displayed hand signs suggesting an affiliation with Tren de Aragua, but they did not suggest gang ties motivated the murder. But tattoos are not a recognizable symbol for Tren de Aragua members, unlike certain other groups.
A search of the powerful CourtLink legal database found no other US criminal cases mentioning Tren de Aragua, at either the state or federal level. The head of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s gang task force, Ken Howard, told InSight Crime that relatively little is known about the gang’s presence and activities in the United States. Howard said, "We know they're here in the state of Georgia. But in terms of creating a well-documented and identified intelligence database on the group, we're not there yet." MS13 and Barrio 18.
Previously, Tren de Aragua was connected to the November 2023 murder of a Venezuelan ex-police officer near Miami. But Detective Alvaro Zabaleta of the Miami-Dade Police Department told InSight Crime that the suspect in that case had denied belonging to the gang, and investigators had found no evidence indicating his membership.
The Republican lawmakers’ letter accused Tren de Aragua of "rapes of multiple children." However, InSight Crime could not find any reports of such incidents, and the main authors of the letter, Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. María Elvira Salazar, both of Florida, did not respond to requests for comment.
Police departments in big cities in the US, like Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, and Denver, told InSight Crime that they did not have any records of Tren de Aragua committing crimes in their areas.
The New York Police Department informed local media that Tren de Aragua was responsible for a series of cell phone thefts in New York City, but did not respond to InSight Crime’s requests for comment.
Unclear Information
Details about Tren de Aragua in the US are limited and not specific.
In August 2023, US Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens stated on X, a former Twitter platform, that his agency had arrested a member of Tren de Aragua trying to enter the United States. A few months later, in November, the Border Patrol told CNN en Español that they had detained 38 potential Tren de Aragua members between October 2022 and October 2023.
ICE recently announced what seems to be the first arrest of an alleged Tren de Aragua member away from the border. The arrest took place near Chicago on March 11, 2024 – a few days before the lawmakers’ letter to Biden – although ICE did not announce it publicly until March 25.
It is not clear how ICE confirmed the suspect’s affiliation with the gang. The Border Patrol, ICE, and their parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to InSight Crime’s requests for comment.
A special agent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation recently told the New York Post that Tren de Aragua members are entering the US and potentially joining other gangs like the MS13.
But a spokesperson for the FBI’s parent agency, the US Department of Justice, informed InSight Crime that the agency does not have any public cases involving Tren de Aragua to provide. Entrance Obstacles Tren de Aragua has effectively expanded beyond Venezuela to operate in other South American countries by following and exploiting the large migrant flows caused by Venezuela’s economic and political difficulties in recent years. However, the gang is unlikely to be able to replicate its model in the US, despite the large Venezuelan communities in the country.
Tren de Aragua does not have control over US migrant smuggling and human trafficking routes, which were crucial to the gang’s growth in South America. Tren de Aragua’s smuggling activities helped establish a strong presence in border regions of Colombia and Chile, providing a base from which to diversify into other crimes with low barriers to entry. From there, the gang further expanded to urban areas and prisons in those countries.
High-Profile Chile Murder Indicates Tren de Aragua’s Sophistication
However, human smuggling and trafficking routes along the US-Mexico border are controlled by Mexican groups, leaving little space for Tren de Aragua to establish a foothold. Likewise, Tren de Aragua would probably struggle to enter other criminal markets in the US, many of which are dominated by well-established gangs. The absence of criminal rivals was critical to Tren de Aragua's expansion into Chile, whereas it has had less success in Ecuador’s more competitive criminal environment. While Tren de Aragua seems unlikely to gain much influence in the United States, exaggerating the danger posed by the gang could lead to copycats. This has happened in various countries.
throughout Latin America
as the gang’s reputation has expanded.
Zabaleta, the Miami-Dade detective, mentioned that his agency is cautious about fueling unnecessary fear about the group.
“It gives them notoriety, it gives them credibility, it makes them grow,” he said. “You start to create that panic and that noise on something that perhaps is not even there.” Featured Image: Image from a Fox News broadcast showing a map of the alleged migration of Tren de Aragua to the United States. Credit: Fox News Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang is causing increasing concern in the United States, even though the group appears to have no substantial US presence and looks unlikely to establish one.
But human smuggling and trafficking routes along the US-Mexico border are dominated by Mexican groups, leaving little room for Tren de Aragua to establish a foothold.
Similarly, Tren de Aragua would likely struggle to break into other criminal markets in the United States, many of which are controlled by well established gangs. The lack of criminal competitors was decisive in Tren de Aragua’s ability to expand into Chile, whereas it has had less success in Ecuador’s more competitive criminal landscape.
While Tren de Aragua appears unlikely to make substantial inroads in the United States, inflating the threat posed by the gang could encourage imposters. This phenomenon has occurred in countries throughout Latin America as the gang’s reputation has grown.
Zabaleta, the Miami-Dade detective, said his agency is wary of stoking unnecessary fear about the group.
“It gives them notoriety, it gives them credibility, it makes them grow,” he said. “You start to create that panic and that noise on something that perhaps is not even there.”
Featured Image: Image from a Fox News broadcast showing a map of the alleged migration of Tren de Aragua to the United States. Credit: Fox News