Nearly 2 Dozen Trinitarios Gang Members Arrested in Massachusetts

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in a file photograph. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Getty Images

Nearly two dozen members of a violent transnational gang were arrested and charged in Massachusetts, federal authorities announced Feb. 19.

Twenty-two alleged Trinitarios gang members face various federal charges including racketeering conspiracy in connection with several murders, attempted murders, shootings, kidnappings, and robberies.

Authorities confirmed that factions of the Trinitarios gang have been identified in the cities of Lawrence, Lynn, Boston, and Haverhill.

“We believe those arrested today–leaders, members, and close associates of the Trinitarios–have allegedly shown a reckless indifference to human life in order to control their turf, push their poison, and make money,” Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, said in a statement.

The investigation, led by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), began in the aftermath of four murders and a series of attempted murders and shootings that happened in Lynn back in 2023. Two of the alleged gang members were juveniles at the time the crimes were committed and have been charged with murder.

“The Massachusetts Trinitarios allegedly recruit new members among communities of legal immigrants and illegal aliens from the Dominican Republic—specifically juveniles in local high schools in Lawrence and Lynn,” according to ICE.

U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said this latest enforcement ends the gang’s “reign of terror” in Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors continue to target violent criminal enterprises. Members and associates of Tren de Aragua, one of the world’s most dangerous transnational criminal organizations, have been nabbed in recent targeted enforcement operations across the country.

The Trump administration on Wednesday officially designated six drug cartels and two gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, or FTOs.

The organizations that received the label include Tren de Aragua, MS-13, Sinaloa cartel, Jalisco New Generation cartel, Tepalcatepec cartel, Los Zetas cartel, Gulf cartel, and La Nueva Familia Michoacana.

The notice issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the groups pose a risk to U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic interests. The label expands the government’s ability to crack down on criminal groups operating in the United States. Designating a group as an FTO allows the government to disrupt the group’s finances through sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on its members and associates.

The move comes after Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office last month that called on officials to evaluate whether any criminal cartels or transnational gangs should be designated as terrorism groups.

From NTD News