On Monday, the Department of Justice dropped two major indictments involving 27 members of Tren de Aragua on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations charges.
The alleged crimes range from sex and drug trafficking to racketeering to firearms crimes.
This from westernjournal.com.
A Monday media release from the Department of Justice read:
Of the 27 defendants, 21 are in federal custody, including 16 who were already in federal criminal, immigration, or state custody and five who were arrested last night and today in operations in New York and other jurisdictions.
The indictment alleged the gang’s purpose included:
Preserving and protecting the power and territory of TdA and its members and associates through acts involving murder, assault, robbery, other acts of violence, and threats of violence, including acts of violence and threats of violence directed at former members and associates of TdA who associated with a splinter organization known as Anti-Tren.
In addition, the gang allegedly smuggled young women from Venezuela into both Peru and the United States, often to be sex trafficked.
The gang was also involved in the distribution of an illicit drug cocktail called “tusi,” the indictment alleged—a cocktail of ketamine, MDMA, and other illegal substances.
The various charges against the 27 individuals named in the indictment can carry up to 15 to 20 years in prison.
In the media release, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi made it clear the Department of Justice planned to treat Tren de Aragua as a serious terror threat.
Bondi said:
As alleged, Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang—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.
Further:
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.
New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whose department played a role in the busts, concurred:
Tren de Aragua is one of the most dangerous gangs in the country, and the NYPD has taken significant action to shut down their operations in New York City.
Further:
For the first time ever, TdA is being named and charged as the criminal enterprise that it is. This isn’t just street crime—it’s organized racketeering, and this gang has shown zero regard for the safety of New Yorkers.
And:
As alleged in the indictment, these defendants wreaked havoc in our communities, trafficking women for sexual exploitation, flooding our streets with drugs, and committing violent crimes with illegal guns. Thanks to the dedicated members of the NYPD and the important work of our federal partners, their time is up.
According to The Hill:
Moreover, when the indictment was unsealed Wednesday, the Department of Justice said that it had serious dirt on Jose Enrique Martinez Florez—known as ‘Chuqui’—who is a high-ranking TdA leader in Bogota, Colombia and is part of the inner circle of senior TdA leadership.
Further:
Flores also allegedly caused the delivery of approximately five kilograms or more of cocaine for international distribution, proceeds that were used to further TdA’s criminal goals.
Flores was arrested in Colombia on March 31 on an American warrant. As of Wednesday evening, he remains in Colombian custody.
FBI Director Kash Patel touted the arrest on social media, having said:
[The] charges are a major step in breaking the operations of violent terrorist gangs and rooting them out of American communities.
BREAKING: Along with @AGPamBondi, tonight I can confirm Jose Enrique Martinez Flores, an allegedly high-ranking member of Tren de Aragua arrested by the FBI in March, had his indictment unsealed today.@TheJusticeDept is officially charging him with support of a terrorist…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) April 24, 2025
Patel added:
This FBI is letting good cops be cops. This is the result.
What a difference an administration makes.
