We will continue to make sure these dirtbags are removed from America’s streets and face justice,’ a DHS spokesperson said.
Federal authorities arrested 68 members of the notorious gang Tren De Aragua this week, according to a new report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“In less than 100 days, the Trump Administration has arrested 394 members of the Tren De Aragua—a vicious gang known for human trafficking, kidnapping, drug trafficking, and other heinous acts terrorizing American communities,” DHS stated.
Tren De Aragua originated in the Venezuelan state of Aragua and later spread to other South American nations and the United States. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed a presidential action which called for designating transnational organizations as terror groups. The State Department officially designated Tren De Aragua as a terrorist organization last month.
“This has allowed a whole of government approach to dismantle this criminal terrorist gang,” the agency said.
“Members of this vicious terrorist gang are responsible for the brutal assault and murder of nursing student Laken Riley and 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray,” DHS said.
Riley was murdered in February last year by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who illegally entered the United States in 2022. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
This week, a coordinated effort from multiple law enforcement agencies led to the arrest of Ricardo Gonzales, 32, a high-ranking member of the Tren De Aragua, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a March 21 statement.
Gonzales had an arrest warrant for kidnapping and he is wanted for first-degree murder—charges stemming from a Jan. 28 incident in which he is accused of kidnapping three females, taking them to an alley, and shooting them in the head. Two of the victims died, while the third survived.
“This defendant’s crimes against American women are horrific, and he is exactly the type of Alien Enemy the Trump administration is fighting to remove from this country in order to make America safe again,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
