Department of Justice files first RICO racketeering charges against Tren de Aragua

The Department of Justice filed racketeering charges for the first time under RICO against the feared Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), one of the fastest-growing criminal gangs in the entire region.

In an official statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced that the case is part of "Operation Take Back America," an effort that seeks to mobilize Department of Justice resources to take down the drug cartels and criminal organizations like the TdA on U.S. soil.

The announcement details that the charges, which include serious crimes such as human trafficking, sex trafficking and even murder, were brought against 27 alleged current and former members of Tren de Aragua. Six of the accused are active members of the dangerous gang, while the other 21 are part of an enemy gang of former members called "anti-Tren"

"Today, we have filed charges against 27 alleged members, former members, and associates of Tren de Aragua, for committing murders and shootings, forcing young women trafficked from Venezuela into commercial sex work, robbing and extorting small businesses, and selling ‘tusi,’ a pink powdery drug that has become their calling card," Matthew Podolsky, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said. 

Various investigators, such as journalist Ronna Risquez, author of the most detailed investigative book on Tren de Aragua, told VOZ that one of the main characteristics of the dangerous gang is precisely to target the vulnerable Venezuelan immigrant population through recruitment that includes threats, kidnapping and extortion.

U.S. Attorney Podolsky assured that his office will work to prosecute transnational gangs on U.S. soil and that the charges filed are clear evidence of this.

All charges were filed in two separate indictments. The first against the six alleged active members of the Tren de Aragua and the second against the other 21 alleged former gang members who are now linked to the enemy gang known as "Anti-Tren."

The gang, of Venezuelan origin, was listed by the Trump administration as a terrorist organization alongside Mexican cartels and MS-13. Tren de Aragua is unique in that it operates in several countries, and its expansion is extremely rapid due to its capacity to adapt and its versatility in forming alliances with other criminal groups. Currently, there are reports that the Aragua Train operates in more than a dozen countries in the region, including the United States, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela, among others.

Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke about the charges filed under RICO and noted, "Today’s indictments and arrests span three states and will devastate TdA’s infrastructure as we work to completely dismantle and purge this organization from our country."

"Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang," Bondi said. "It is a highly structured terrorist organization that has destroyed American families with brutal violence, engaged in human trafficking, and spread deadly drugs through our communities."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York also reported that 21 of the 27 defendants are currently in federal custody. Five of them were arrested in recent days, while the other 16 had already been arrested.

Most of the defendants face potential life sentences if found guilty.

One of the most serious charges is the smuggling of "multadas," which are sex workers who were coercively recruited into servitude from Venezuela to Peru and the United States.

According to the statement, both Tren de Aragua and Anti-Tren kept the victims, mostly Venezuelan, trapped in a life of sexual slavery through death threats against them and their families.