The fight against the Tren de Aragua has been intensifying in Latin America, showcasing severe structural damage inflicted on the Venezuelan transnational criminal organization. These successes are the direct result of decisive action by regional security forces, bolstered by crucial international cooperation.
A landmark ruling in early June by Chile’s Oral Criminal Court of Iquique, in the Tarapacá region, led to the conviction of 12 key leaders of the Tren de Aragua. National Prosecutor Ángel Valencia described the verdict as historic, with the defendants found guilty of 39 crimes including kidnapping with homicide, human trafficking, and illicit migrant smuggling. This marked the first time a Chilean court formally recognized the existence and criminal activity of a Tren de Aragua cell on national territory.
The gang began its operations in Chile 2021 in the Tarapacá region, swiftly expanding its control over illegal activities, particularly in the border area of Colchane near Bolivia. The Chilean Attorney General’s Office identified Carlos González Vaca, alias Estrella, as the organization’s leader with Harol Rangel Villa, known as Harol Petare, and Hernán David Landaeta Garlotti, alias Satanás, as primary enforcers responsible for multiple crimes.
“We have secured the conviction of key members of the Tren de Aragua responsible for very serious crimes such as kidnapping with murder, migrant smuggling, human trafficking and more,” said Prosecutor Valencia. “In Chile, criminal organizations have no place and will have no place.”
String of successes
This major judicial success in Chile follows a string of significant enforcement operations that unfolded over the past year and continue today, underscoring the growing regional coordination against the criminal group. These efforts include robust international collaboration.
The Tren de Aragua’s connection to the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro remains a central point of regional tension and prosecution. The gang is explicitly linked to the assassination of former Venezuelan military officer, Lieutenant Ronald Ojeda in February 2024. Chilean prosecutors have formally accused the terror group of executing the politically motivated murder of Ojeda, alleging the act of transnational repression was ordered by high-ranking officials in the Maduro regime, including Diosdado Cabello.
In late May 2025, a significant coordinated effort targeting Tren de Aragua’s networks, dubbed Operation Metástasis, was executed by Chilean authorities. The Attorney General’s Office and the Investigative Police (PDI) arrested 29 individuals across La Araucanía, Valparaíso, and the Metropolitan Region. These arrests targeted members of Los Piratas and Loyalty factions, who were involved in drug trafficking and the extortion of Venezuelan sex workers.
Concurrently in Argentina, an operation led to the arrest of 12 individuals linked to the Tren de Aragua. Argentina’s Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said via X that this cell operated as the group’s financial arm, moving millions by purchasing gold, rural properties, and high-value assets in exclusive areas, all of which have been identified for seizure. This demonstrated a significant blow to the organization’s financial structure. This operation, according to Bullrich, followed a year-long joint investigation with the FBI and Interpol.
“Multilateral Andean border security cooperation is essential and is the responsibility of several agencies, not just the police, immigration, and intelligence services,” Andrés Gómez de la Torre, a Peruvian international analyst told Diálogo in July 2025. “We must develop greater border coordination between immigration and intelligence services at the police and strategic levels.”
Another significant capture occurred in March 2025, when, through coordination between the Colombian and Chilean forces, Gabriel Arturo Acosta Escalante, leader of the Hermanos Cartier cell of the Tren de Aragua, was apprehended in Antioquia, Colombia. This cell, operating in Chile’s Los Lagos region, was responsible for kidnappings, murders, extortion, drug trafficking, and money laundering. Chilean Minister of Public Security Luis Cordero confirmed that Acosta Escalante directed all criminal operations from Colombia, never stepping foot on Chilean soil, highlighting the transnational nature of the group’s leadership.
“The recent blows to the Tren de Aragua reflect significant progress in the fight against this criminal group,” Luis Toledo, director of the Center for Public Security and Organized Crime Studies at the University of San Sebastián, Chile, told Diálogo in July. “This combined operational model, which includes prosecutors, police, and international agencies, makes it possible to identify key nodes, such as border control in Tarapacá and money laundering networks using bus companies.”
Latest blows: Money laundering, extradition, and U.S. action
The momentum against Tren de Aragua’s financial structures continues to build. In late June, Chilean authorities announced the dismantling of a significant money laundering network linked to the gang. This operation uncovered over $13.5 million that been laundered out of Chile, originating from criminal activities. At least 52 individuals, predominantly foreign nationals, were arrested across multiple regions, including Santiago, Tarapacá, and Valparaíso.
In the most recent judicial success, five alleged members of the Tren de Aragua were extradited from the United States to Chile in October 2025 to face charges, demonstrating the practical effectiveness of bilateral security agreements.
Underpinning these law enforcement actions is the Tren de Aragua’s new global legal status. The international community formally designated the Tren de Aragua as a terrorist threat in 2025. In February 2025, the U.S. government designated Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). This global pressure was quickly affirmed across the hemisphere, with countries including Canada, Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago formally classifying Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization.
Toledo highlighted the implications of such designation. “The designation of the Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization by the United States […] provides key tools: It allows assets to be frozen through laws such as the Patriot Act; it expedites extraditions […]; and it facilitates military-police coordination under U.N. Resolution 1540.”
However, Toledo, formerly a chief prosecutor for the Drug Unit of the Chilean’s General Attorney’s Office, stresses that any such designation must be complemented by measures that do not yet universally exist in the region. These include regional legislative harmonization to uniformly classify crimes and the creation of specialized courts with judges trained in organized crime and transnational crimes, along with international witness protection.
The successes against Tren de Aragua in Chile and the broader region, reinforced by intensified international efforts and designations, underscore the critical role of sustained international cooperation and intelligence sharing in dismantling complex transnational criminal networks.
Note: This article is a revised and updated version of a report originally published in July 2025.
