US, Canada Sign Cooperation Agreement to Intensify Efforts Against Tren de Aragua Gang

A military flight carrying illegal immigrant members of the Tren de Aragua gang to Guantanamo Bay prepares to depart, in El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 4, 2025. Courtesy of Department of Homeland Security

The United States and Canada have signed a historic agreement to intensify efforts against Tren de Aragua (TdA), the violent Venezuelan gang that has expanded its operations across North America in recent years.

The memorandum of cooperation, signed by Interpol Washington Director Jeffrey A. Grimming and National Central Bureau Ottawa Director Marie-Josee Homsy on Feb. 13, enhances law enforcement coordination between the two nations.

“Today, we have taken a great leap forward in our fight to eradicate TdA in the United States,” Grimming said, according to a statement released by the U.S. Justice Department on Feb. 13.

“By bringing our combined law enforcement resources to bear, the United States and Canada have ensured that TdA will find no safe harbor in either of our nations.”

The agreement enables both countries to improve police coordination, share intelligence, and conduct joint investigations to dismantle TdA’s criminal networks.

“Tackling Transnational Criminal Organizations like TdA requires transnational cooperation,” Homsy said in the statement. “These groups threaten security and stability across the Americas.

“This signing is an example of the strong collaboration that takes place between Canadian and American authorities every day—as well as the power and reach of INTERPOL capabilities.

“By working together, we can dismantle criminal networks, protect our communities, and reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law.”

The agreement was signed during the Interpol Heads of National Central Bureaus Conference in Lyon, France.

Earlier this month, a TdA member was apprehended after illegally crossing into the United States near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, according to the U.S. congressman for the district, Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.).

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office seeking to designate various transnational criminal organizations, including Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations.

That order states that such groups have flooded the United States with “deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs,” posing an “unacceptable national security risk.”

The agreement was signed one day before high-profile arrests in the United States linked to the gang.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Feb. 14 that eight individuals tied to TdA had been arrested in Tennessee.

Those arrested were all illegal aliens from Venezuela, according to the agency, and were charged in a four-count indictment related to a commercial sex and human trafficking enterprise operating in Nashville motels from July 2022 through March 2024.

“This indictment demonstrates our commitment to stop human trafficking whenever and wherever we find it,” Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Robert E. McGuire said in a statement.

“We are coming after transnational criminal organizations like TdA, but this case shows that we will also do whatever it takes to stop those who would traffic women and girls no matter who is behind their suffering.”

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch had previously warned of TdA’s increasing presence in the state’s largest cities, emphasizing the gang’s violent nature and disregard for law enforcement.

“They have a pathway of violence, and we want people to be aware of that,” Rausch said. “They are very violent toward policing—they have no respect for law enforcement.

“They will fight, and they will attack police.”