The Tren de Aragua, one of Venezuela’s most violent criminal organizations, is expanding its influence throughout the Americas, stretching its tentacles further north, reaching Mexico and the United States. Its impact, which compromises regional stability and security, has led Mexican authorities to strengthen alliances with international partners to contain this growing threat, Mexican investigative news site Aristegui Noticias reported.
“This forces us to reconsider the configuration of criminal networks, the direct impact on local communities, and how this problem transcends, affecting not only the security of individuals and localities, but also that of states at the hemispheric level,” Yadira Gálvez, a security expert and an academic at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, told Diálogo.
This gang, which traces its origins to Venezuelan prisons, has a wide criminal portfolio and engages in extortion, drug, arms, and human trafficking. In northern Mexico, for instance, the Tren de Aragua collaborates with local cartels in human trafficking, CNN reported on November 4. The criminal organization has advanced throughout Latin America with the Maduro regime’s consent, terrorizing Chile, Colombia, and Peru with kidnappings, murders, sexual exploitation, and torture. According to Mexican daily Milenio, this criminal organization competes with Mexican cartels in illicit activities along the border with the United States.
The expansion of the Tren de Aragua represents one of the greatest challenges for the region, Gálvez said. Due to its characteristics, forms of operation, and illicit activities, strengthening international cooperation, intelligence exchange, and developing trust networks among institutions and actors in charge of combating this threat is crucial, she added.
Unity against the Venezuelan gang
On October 21, the Secretary of Public Security (SSPE) of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, Gilberto Loya Chávez, announced the creation of a special unit to combat the dangerous organization, Aristegui Noticias reported. The Tren de Aragua, which operates throughout the country, has established alliances with gangs such as the Mara Salvatrucha, Barrio 18, and Los Bravos de Colombia.
To address this threat, the new unit, made up of highly specialized agents, will be dedicated to thoroughly investigate the Tren de Aragua’s operations in the state, Mexican daily El Nacional reported. Its agents have received training in countries such as Colombia, El Salvador, and the United States, where they face similar challenges in combating transnational crime.
This comprehensive strategy is not locally limited but is reinforced by international experience and knowledge exchanges. In August 2024, during a visit by Chilean and Salvadoran agents to the SSPE, the officers shared effective techniques for combating the Tren de Aragua. According to Aristegui Noticias, the constant exchange of information with the United States is also fundamental to strengthening the SSPE’s capabilities.
“The positive thing is to observe how, at the local and state level, an authority manages to identify the operation of this criminal organization. However, illicit activities of a transnational nature necessarily demand close cooperation between Mexico and the United States,” Gálvez said, stressing the need for a joint approach.
The United States has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to Mexico to counter arms, drugs, and human trafficking. More recently, on October 21, U.S. State Department and Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) officials met with Chihuahua government authorities, to ensure effective coordination between security agencies of both countries, to combat common threats.
“The Tren de Aragua is a common threat, which demands urgent attention, international cooperation, and the integration of local efforts,” said Gálvez. “In Mexico, organized crime is a federal issue, but as we broaden the perspective to hemispheric security, it is imperative that Mexico and the United States work together with strategic countries in Central and South America.”
To meet this challenge, Gálvez added, logistics working groups capable of dismantling these criminal networks must be created to cover their operational structure as well as their finances and illicit activities, including human smuggling and trafficking. This regional collaboration is key to ensuring local, national, and hemispheric security, she said.
South America
The expansion of the Tren de Aragua has sparked violence in South America. In Chile, the gang has engaged in sexual exploitation and murders. In Peru, it is linked to brutal homicides. While the criminal group has diversified its activities in Colombia, from cell phones theft and sales to controlling prostitution networks, Mexican daily Reforma reported. Colombia has become a key stronghold for its criminal operations.
This gang takes advantage of local criminal economies in South America, strategically inserting itself. It also develops transnational financial operations, laundering money through cryptocurrencies, and has forged alliances with groups such as the First Capital Command, Brazil’s largest criminal network.
“Countries with high levels of corruption, institutional weakness, and political crises become fertile grounds for the expansion of criminal organizations,” Gálvez said. “This phenomenon represents a complex challenge across many dimensions. The case of Venezuela is frightening.”
In July, the United States and Colombia offered up to $12 million for information leading to the arrests of three leaders of the Tren de Aragua: Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero, alias Niño Guerrero; Yohan José Romero, alias Johan Petrica; and Giovanny San Vicente, alias El Viejo, the U.S. Department of State said in a statement.
New strategy
In Mexico, members of the Tren de Aragua have been removing their distinctive tattoos (crowns, roses, weapons, felines, grenades, and phrases such as “Son of God” or “Real until death”) to avoid being identified as gang members, Telemundo reported in late October.
“On the issue of tattoos, there are important lessons learned. The maras in El Salvador and Honduras adapted their symbolism of belonging to evade authorities,” Gálvez said. “It wouldn’t be surprising if members of the Trend de Aragua were to adopt similar strategies, adjusting their visual identity to go unnoticed.”
“It is essential that the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security and the Department against Transnational Organized Crime of the OAS [Organization of American States] promote spaces for training and cooperation. It is also necessary to strengthen regional, subregional, and bilateral forums, to prevent lack of coordination from allowing these organizations to expand their field of action and continue operating without restrictions,” Gálvez concluded.
