On July 11, 2024, the Biden administration sanctioned the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, and the Department of State, in coordination with the Department of Justice, offered a $12 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of its leaders. With both the White House and Treasury Department designating Tren de Aragua as a transnational criminal organization, all of its assets in the US controlled by foreign nationals will be blocked. Concern surrounding the expansion of Tren de Aragua into the U.S. is what sparked the sanction; U.S. federal and state officials suspect the gang of killing a former police officer in South Florida and attacking police in New York. However, while three Latin American police sources have claimed that some members of the gang may have entered the U.S., officials have not yet seen evidence that Tren de Aragua is organized in the country. So far, Latin American officials have linked the gang to cases of extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, contract killings, smuggling, and organized retail theft, among other crimes. 

Many Republicans in the U.S. Congress, led by Senator Marco Rubio, had urged U.S. President Joe Biden to sanction Tren de Aragua, adding it to a list of recognized transnational criminal organizations including MS-13 and Camorra. Senator Rubio, co-chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, reported in April 2024, “Now we are seeing evidence that they have made it into the United States. Every single day, we’re seeing reports from Chicago, South Florida, and New York that these gang members are here.” U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales shared a similar sentiment, asserting, “We also know Tren de Aragua members have entered the United States. Tren de Aragua is the epitome of evil. It’s graphic, but this gang is known to rape children, spearhead murder (victims) and, cause widespread chaos.” Concerns surrounding the gang’s committed atrocities span across the Americas; Jose Contreras Hernandez, chief of the anti-trafficking brigade of the Investigations Police of Chile, said, “The Tren de Aragua is a brand that generates fear among people,” citing how the criminal group has been accused of sexual exploitation and contract killings. In response to these concerns, NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement, “Departments and agencies across the U.S. government also continue to prioritize actions being taken to identify and disrupt Tren de Aragua and other violent criminal organizations through a combination of investigative, prosecutorial, diplomatic, screening, and vetting tools, per the Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime.”

In a July 11 statement, the White House asserted that the Department of Homeland Security has implemented enhanced screening to vet and better identify known or suspected gang members. This will be especially useful, as gang members in the past who posed as legitimate asylum seekers have committed crimes in the U.S., including murder, while on immigration parole. Additionally, the newly-announced sanction, which will take immediate effect, will allow the Treasury Department to cut off members of the gang from the US financial system. This will occur in tandem with law enforcement agencies and state partners investigating and prosecuting individuals suspected to be associated with Tren de Aragua. Although there may not yet be solid evidence of Tren de Aragua organized crime in the U.S., preventive measures are crucial to reinforcing security and avoiding potential crime, violence, or death. However, there is only so much the U.S. can do to stem a flow of crime that does not originate within its borders. Effective solutions must come from Venezuela itself, but this may be difficult to accomplish due to the presidency of Nicolás Maduro, who has accused political opponents of exaggerating the reach of Tren de Aragua to tarnish his government’s reputation. While many organizations and institutions have identified potential solutions, they will be difficult to initiate and maintain in Venezuela’s current political climate. 

Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s most powerful homegrown criminal group, was formed over a decade ago and traditionally operated out of Tocorón Prison in the state of Aragua, although the prison was raided by police in September 2023. The gang is led by Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, commonly referred to as “Niño Guerrero.” The gang’s actions began with the extortion of local businesses in Venezuela but eventually expanded to additional realms. The gang took control of routes used for drug trafficking and the smuggling of other contraband, but eventually shifted to human trafficking, taking advantage of the large number of migrants leaving Venezuela. Currently, Tren de Aragua is the only Venezuelan gang to successfully project its power abroad, as its level of influence that first only resided within the state of Aragua has since spread across several countries. In large part, Tren de Aragua’s success that originated in Tocorón Prison can be attributed to the Venezuelan government’s unofficial policy of handing control of prisons to crime bosses; freedom from the government combined with the gang’s criminal income allowed for the construction of a zoo, swimming pool, playground, restaurant, and nightclub all within the prison, signifying the gang’s wealth in Venezuela. 

In recent years, it appears that Tren de Aragua’s international spread has slowed. Their loss of Tocorón as an operational base has the potential to disrupt transnational operations, and security forces across the region continue to designate resources for the targeting of the gang’s holdings. Additionally, mass migration from Venezuela that allowed for the gang’s initial expansion has slowed. In 2022 and 2023 alone, over 100 alleged members of Tren de Aragua were arrested by Peruvian, Chilean, and Colombian officials. 

Corruption and extortion leveraged by Venezuelan gangs like Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan government alike result in profound societal and economic costs for Venezuelan civilians, largely attributed to the mass migration from the country. Extortion permeates nearly all levels of Venezuelan society, and the repercussions of not paying extortion are severe. Many locals have lost faith in the willingness and capacity of security forces to protect them, further contributing to an environment of insecurity and migration. InSight Crime, a non-profit organization dedicated to studying organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, suggested a combination of short-term mitigation tactics and long-term political shifts as the necessary changes to remedy and alleviate the large-scale corruption that has enabled the growth and influence of gangs like Tren de Aragua. Short-term mitigation tactics, although difficult to accomplish given the entrenchment of society in corruption, include the empowerment of communities and the private sector, investment in police reform, and the improvement of transnational information sharing among regional authorities. While all of these options offer potential solutions, what will not constitute legitimate problem-solving is the designation of all immigrants coming from South America as perpetrators of violence or crime. The actions of Tren de Aragua are horrible, but do not represent the entirety of immigrants approaching the U.S.’s borders, and are not an excuse to treat all immigrants with hatred or apathy. Productive solutions will target perpetrators of the conflict without associating them with innocent individuals crossing the same borders.