Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan Gang Operating Across South America, Into Mexico and the US

Tren de Aragua was born in the Tocorón prison in the state of Aragua. The group’s name, which roughly translates to the Aragua Train, may have originated from a labor union working on a railway project through the state which was never finished. They have become the most powerful gang in that country and only Venezuelan gang to establish any power beyond its borders.

From the walls of Tocorón, the gang went on to have a presence in countries including Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, where its factions have managed to make inroads and dominate important criminal economies such as migrant smuggling, human trafficking, extortion, and micro drug trafficking.

As Tren de Aragua has expanded, it has infiltrated local criminal economies in South America, established transnational financial operations, laundered funds through cryptocurrency, and formed ties with the U.S. sanctioned Primeiro Comando da Capital, (PCC) the notorious organized crime group in Brazil that began as a prison gang as well.

The capture of “Larry Changa” is the most significant blow the gang has been dealt so far. Larry Alvarez Nunez had fled to Chile, establishing the gang’s base in that country before fleeing to Colombia where he was captured in July, 2024.

His detention creates a leadership vacuum the group has not faced before. The fact that “Larry Changa” and other senior leaders of the Tren de Aragua are behind bars could cause the proliferation of new structures within the group, as has happened with the Tren del Coro in Arica, a former Tren de Aragua faction that decided to go independent following the arrest and murder of several of the group’s original leaders.

With the loss of Tocorón prison, Niño Guerrero also stopped receiving important criminal revenues. The prison population was obliged to contribute to the “cause” via a prison tax that ranged from $10 to $15 each week or month, depending on the benefits received. In March 2024, Niño’s brother, Gerso Isaac Guerrero Flores, was arrested in Barcelona, Spain.

During a press conference on July 15, Secretary of Public Security of Chihuahua Gilberto Loya said that the week prior he attended a meeting on border violence, which was attended by authorities dedicated to containing violence on the border, both from Mexican and US authorities.

Loya reported that the criminal group of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua operates in the state and they have their point of operations in Ciudad Juárez, while Oscar Ibáñez Hernández points out that the criminal group has also associated with local Mexican gangs. “We have had people who said they are members of the Tren de Aragua who have crossed from Ciudad Juárez to El Paso and other cities in the United States,” Loya said.