The Department of Justice (DOJ) on April 21 announced that 27 alleged members or affiliates of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) had been charged under legislation designed to bring down criminal enterprises.
The indictments were filed against those suspected to be current members of TdA, which is designated a terrorist organization by the federal government, and members of “Anti-Tren,” a group the DOJ said is largely composed of past TdA members.
The DOJ said the case is part of “Operation Take Back America,” described as “a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
The case fits into President Donald Trump’s broader hardline stance against gangs like TdA and MS-13.
Attorney General Pam Bondi also released a statement on the indictment, saying, “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.”
Bondi said that the indictments and arrests made in connection with the case spanned three states and that they’re poised to “devastate TdA’s infrastructure.”
The federal law being used to charge the more than two dozen individuals, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), was introduced in the late 20th century as a measure to break up the mob. However, it’s broad enough to permit widespread application to any type of corrupt organization.
To convict under RICO, prosecutors must prove that one or more “enterprises”—meaning any organization dedicated to an end goal, whether corporate or criminal—engaged in a pattern of criminal behavior. Specific federal charges are eligible for prosecution under RICO, and any RICO case must involve at least two of those charges being committed within a 10-year period.
RICO is an indictment even hardened criminals have come to fear, as its specific mechanisms allow prosecutors to charge far more liberally, and with far harsher prison sentences, than in many other types of criminal proceedings.
To meet the law’s requirements of the definition of an “enterprise,” which must be dedicated to one or many end goals, the DOJ broadly defined the goal of TdA as “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.”
Additionally, the DOJ said TdA sought to “[enrich] the members and associates of TdA” through sex trafficking young women into Peru and the United States, trafficking controlled substances, and armed robbery.
Six of those affiliated with the mainline TdA were indicted.
The other 21 involved members of Anti-Tren, which operated in multiple New York City boroughs, including the Bronx and Queens, and in New Jersey, and elsewhere. The DOJ said its members are “almost exclusively” former TdA members who broke away.
The justification for the Anti-Tren indictments under RICO is identical to that given for TdA.
Xavier Donaldson, an attorney representing one of the defendants, declined to comment. Other lawyers listed on the court docket for defendants did not return inquiries.
The charges come amid an ongoing dispute between the United States, El Salvador, and Venezuela over the handling of Venezuelan nationals convicted and deported by the Trump administration.
Under a $6 million agreement between the United States and El Salvador, many of those deported have been housed at El Salvador’s CECOT prison.
Venezuela’s socialist regime, which currently detains several dissidents recognized internationally as political prisoners, claimed that deported Venezuelan gang members detained at CECOT were themselves political prisoners.
On April 20, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele proposed a swap of all Venezuelans currently in Salvadoran custody in exchange for an identical number of Venezuela’s anti-regime political prisoners.
Venezuela has rejected the deal and called for the immediate and unconditional release of detained Venezuelans.
