President Trump's executive order on Saturday sparked alien enemy laws, targeting Venezuelan citizens over the age of 14 and have links to cross-border gangster Tren de Aragua, who said “will be arrested, restrained, secured and removed as alien enemies.”
Trump's order was quickly challenged in court, but the gang has been a source of concern for US officials last year. The Biden administration named Tren de Aragua a cross-border crime organization in 2024, the New York Police Department highlighted its activities on the East Coast, and the Trump White House began the process of designating foreign terrorist organizations in January.
Here's what we know about gangs:
Rising power from Venezuela
Tren de Aragua (Aragua trains, or Aragua trains) have roots in the Tocoron prison in the Northern Aragua state of Venezuela. This transformed the group's leader into a mini city with a pool, restaurant and a zoo. They reportedly recorded executions and torture there to maintain control over other prisoners.
The Venezuelan economy collapsed, its government became more oppressive under President Nicolas Maduro, and the group began exploiting vulnerable migrants. Tren de Aragua's influence soon spread to other parts of Latin America, and it became one of the most violent and infamous criminal organizations in the region focusing on sex trafficking, human smuggling and drugs.
In 2022, Colombian officials denounced the gangs the murders of at least 23 people after police began to find the body parts in bags. Suspicious members have also been arrested in Chile and Brazil, where the gang matched with Primaro Commando da Capital, one of the country's largest organized crime rings.
Recent entries to the US
Despite many unknowns about true size and refinement in the United States, Tren de Aragua has emerged in recent years as a source of true interest in law enforcement.
In New York City, police say gangs are focusing on stealing mobile phones. High-end products for retail theft, especially department stores and theft while riding a scooter. They also deal with pink powdery synthetic drugs known as Tusi, where ketamine, MDMA or fentanyl is often knitted.
Police are also believed that the gangs are recruiting members from within the city's immigration shelters, and have also entered into conflicts or alliances with other gangs.
In other parts of the country, those accused of partnering with Tren de Aragua have been charged with crimes such as shootings and human trafficking, primarily targeting members of the Venezuelan community.
In May 2024, federal officials discovered a sex trafficking ring in order to force a gang to force a Venezuelan woman to have sex and pay off debts to smugglers who supported the border crossing. The rings are spread across Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Florida and New Jersey, according to complaints filed in federal court.
The group's presence in the US was the flashpoint of the 2024 election as Trump accused the Biden administration of leading criminals into the country. During the presidential debate, he falsely suggested that the gang took over the Aurora of Coro.
The source of immigrant stigma
The Trump administration has repeatedly described it as the focus of Tren de Aragua's deportation efforts. Venezuelan immigrants seeking asylum say the presence of gangs in the US and the discourse surrounding them has created a hurtful stigma and discrimination against them.
“Everyone who has tattoos thinks we are Tren de Aragua,” Evelyn Velazquez, a 33-year-old Venezuelan woman, told The New York Times in September. “I apply for a job, and when they hear that we are Venezuelan, they turn us down.”
In February, a White House spokesman said 10 men were detained and housed in Cuba's Guantanamo Bay. The male sister who was detained said he was not a member of the gang.
In late February, the Trump administration suddenly emptied two detention sites the government used to hold 177 Venezuelans flying out of the United States, including a military prison building that was previously used to hold terrorist detainees. Federal officials moved their second immigration group this month.
