Miami, United States. – In recent weeks, the US government has intensified its measures against the Aragua Train, a gang of Venezuelan origin that has expanded its presence in several Latin American countries and recently in the US territory.
As part of the Washington strategy, on February 4, 10 alleged members of the gang were transferred to the Guantanamo Naval Basewhich has been historically used for the arrest of terrorism suspects, especially after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
This was the first group of migrants sent to Guantanamo under the new security policy implemented by the White House. The decision is part of a presidential decree signed on January 20, 2025, in which Trump ordered the beginning of the process to designate the Aragua train as a foreign terrorist organization.
The designation of this gang as a terrorist group responds to its growing presence in the US and its involvement in crimes such as traffic, extortion, kidnapping and drug trafficking. According to the decree signed by Trump, the Aragua train and the Salvadoran gang MS-13 carry out “violence and terror campaigns in the US and internationally”, which represents a threat to the stability of the Western hemisphere.
The document also requests the classification of Mexico’s drug cartels as terrorist organizations. With this measure, the US government seeks to justify a greater legal and operational offensive against these criminal structures.
The announcement of the transfer of alleged gang members to the Guantanamo Naval Base occurred in a context of massive raids against members of the organization on US soil. In the first week of the second Trump administration, federal authorities arrested a high rank member of the Aragua train in New York. The capture of two other members in Atlanta was also reported, who resided illegally in the US.
What is the Aragua train?
The Aragua train emerged in Venezuela and, over time, has managed to expand its operations towards Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and, more recently, its origin dates back to unions of construction workers of the construction of a project Railway in the Venezuelan states of Aragua and Carabobo, which was never completed.
According to a report from Transparency Venezuelathe gang consolidated its power within the Tocorón prison, from where it coordinated its criminal operations. In September 2023, the Venezuelan authorities raided the prison and found a pool, restaurants and an arsenal with rifles and machine guns held by the inmates.
Although the Nicolás Maduro regime declared that the Occasione operation dismantled the Aragua train dome, intelligence reports indicate that the gang continues to operate outside Venezuela with a decentralized structure.
According to CNNthe retired general Oscar Naranjo, former vice president of Colombia and former director of the National Police, has described the Aragua Train as “the most disruptive criminal organization in Latin America” and a challenge for regional security.
Criminal expansion and links with other organizations
The US Department of the Treasury, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has indicated that the Aragua Train has infiltrated various criminal economies in South America. The organization has established transnational financial operations and has washed money through cryptocurrencies.
One of its most important allies is the Primeiro Da Capital Command (PCC), a group of organized crime in Brazil that has also been sanctioned by the United States.
In countries like Colombia, the gang has formed networks with the Guerrilla Group National Liberation Army (ELN) to operate sexual trafficking in the border city of Villa del Rosario. A report from the US Department of State on Trafficking in persons in 2023 documented that these criminal groups explode Venezuelan and Colombian migrants displaced, subjecting them to forced labor and servitude for debts.
The organization uses extreme violence to maintain control over its victims. According to the OFACAragua train members murder those who try to escape and publish images of crimes as warning for others.
How big is your presence in the US?
One of the biggest challenges for US authorities is to determine the magnitude of the presence of the Aragua train in the country. According to Insight Crimea group of organized crime experts, “the reputation of the Aragua train could have grown faster than their real presence in the US.”
So far, there is no evidence that Aragua’s train cells in the US operate in a coordinated manner with the organization’s dome in Venezuela. However, intelligence reports have detected an increase in criminal activities associated with the gang in Florida and other states with a large Venezuelan migrant community.
According to the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the FBI, the gang has followed the migration routes through South America and has established criminal cells in the US.
A recent case in Aurora, Coloradohe put the authorities alert. In December 2024, a group of undocumented immigrants kidnapped and tortured a couple in their apartment complex. According to police chief Todd Chamberlain, several of the detainees were identified as members of the Aragua train.
In September 2024, Donald Trump used these types of cases to argue that uncontrolled migration represents a threat to national security. During a speech, he specifically mentioned Aurora as an example of the dangers of gang infiltration in American communities.
However, local officials have tried to reduce alarmism around the issue. The mayor of Aurora, Mike Coffman, and Councilor Danielle Jurinsky, issued a joint statement in which they assured that “the Aragua train has not ‘attached’ of the city”, although they acknowledged that their presence is worrying.
