Tren de Aragua has quickly become one of the most infamous crime groups in Latin America and the Caribbean. Governments across the region have deemed it a top security priority. The United States has labeled the group a terrorist organization and accused it of mounting an invasion.
But Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claims his government has wiped out Tren de Aragua in its home country. So what is the truth about the gang? Is it an ascendant criminal powerhouse, or just a highly successful criminal brand?
Three years of on-the-ground reporting across various countries sheds new light on the reality of Tren de Aragua — how it has evolved, how it currently operates, and how it might change in the future.
Investigation Chapters
What Is Tren de Aragua?
Is Tren de Aragua a terrorist organization bent on invading the United States or a spent criminal force being used as an excuse to target…
The Tocorón Takeover
Tocorón Prison was the most notorious in the country and the main sanctuary and center of operations of Tren de Aragua.
Bolívar: A New Sanctuary for Tren de Aragua?
In Bolívar, Tren de Aragua does not operate like the prison-based megabanda that expanded across the region. Instead, it functions as a sindicato – the…
Tren de Aragua Clashes with Colombia’s Underworld
Colombia has proven to be fertile territory for Tren de Aragua’s operations, expanding its criminal rents and offering refuge to some of its most notorious…
How Tren de Aragua Became Peru’s ‘Public Enemy Number One’
Remaining low profile limited Tren de Aragua’s ability to establish itself in Peru. So the group began to expand into zones claimed by other criminal…
Safe Chile Meets Extreme Gang Violence
In Chile, elements linked to Tren de Aragua found a country that had not experienced anything like the transnational crime group, and the Venezuelan gang…
Tren de Aragua and the American Dream
Tren de Aragua has little chance of building criminal power in the United States with so much law enforcement and public attention focused on it.
Separating Fact From Fiction With Tren de Aragua
Even as the infamy of the Tren de Aragua grows in the Americas, its cohesion and organization are weakening.
The Future of Tren de Aragua
The Tren de Aragua brand is far stronger than the organization behind it, fed in no small part by discourse coming out of the United…
Credits:
Written by: Venezuela Investigative Unit, Jeremy McDermott, Mike LaSusa
Edited by: Mike LaSusa, Jeremy McDermott, Creusa Muñoz, María Fernanda Ramírez
Fact-checking: Venezuela Investigative Unit
Layout and design: María Isabel Gaviria, Juan José Restrepo, Isabella Soto
Graphics: María Isabel Gaviria, Juan José Restrepo, Christopher Newton
