According to the organization, migration occurs due to the violence of these same groups, causing forced displacement through conflicts for the control of illicit economies, such as drug trafficking and extortion. The majority of migrants move to the United States.
Criminal networks “not only make profits by facilitating migrant smuggling, but also through extortion and kidnapping schemes, which has transformed the migratory economy into one of their main sources of income.”
“The abuse of migrants as a criminal activity is increasingly important. With the tightening of immigration control systems, migrants end up falling directly into the hands of traffickers and depend much more on them,” said Yael Schacher, director for America and Europe at the organization Refugees International.
More lucrative than cocaine
The report indicates that migration through the Darién has reached historic levels in that inhospitable jungle. The enormous migratory flows through the Darién have reached historic levels. The Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), a dominant criminal force. “They have taken almost total control of the migrant economy and transformed this dangerous jungle crossing into a multi-million dollar profit opportunity.”
“The (migratory economy) has become their main source of income (in this area of Colombia),” said Caitlyn Yates, an expert on the migration dynamics of this area. “Even cocaine trafficking has taken a backseat.”
“This dense stretch of jungle, which covers more than 575,000 hectares between Colombia and Panama, has seen a considerable increase in crossings since 2021. In 2024, for example, nearly 300,000 people crossed the Darién, making it one of the most of the hemisphere”.
The Aragua Train
It is one of the main “mega bands” in Venezuela. The gang originated more than a decade ago in an infamously lawless prison with hardened criminals in the central state of Aragua. However, it has expanded in recent years as more than 8 million desperate Venezuelans have fled economic turmoil under the government of President Nicolás Maduro and emigrated to other parts of Latin America or United States.
One of the founders is Héctor Guerrero, who was imprisoned years ago for killing a police officer, according to Insight Crime. Guerrero, nicknamed “El Niño,” escaped and was later recaptured in 2013. He escaped from prison again more recently, as Venezuela’s regime attempted to reassert control over its prison population, and is believed to reside in Colombia.
In recent years, the group has extended its influence throughout South America and has established a permanent presence in Colombia, Peru and Chile, taking advantage of the exodus of almost 8 million Venezuelans since 2015.
The Aragua Train capitalized on the fact that many Venezuelans have sought stability in neighboring countries, which allowed it to establish itself as a main actor in migrant smuggling operations in the region. Initially, the group controlled border crossings between Colombia and Venezuela, but later began to offer its own migrant transfer services, which include packages with transportation, accommodation and food for the entire trip, reveals Insight Crime.
“Nevertheless, unprecedented government actions have been taken against the group over the last year. The first blow occurred in late 2023, when Venezuelan security forces stormed the Tocorón prison, in the state of Aragua, which had functioned as the mega-band’s headquarters.” The offensive occurred after years of support from the Nicolás Maduro regime towards the Tren de Aragua and the criminal fiefdom they had created in Tocorón, in an attempt to sell the image that they were fighting organized crime.
“Other governments in the region also took action. In early July, Colombian authorities arrested Larry Álvarez Núñez, alias “Larry Changa,” one of the main founders and leaders of the Tren de Aragua. Álvarez had allegedly been key to the expansion of the group in Colombia and would have helped consolidate its operations in Chile”.
“In November, Colombian police also captured Jeison Alexander Lorca Salazar, alias “Jeison Comino,” allegedly the second in command of the Tren de Aragua in Colombia. In addition, prosecutors in Chile and Peru have led operations against members of the group in their respective countries,” the report states.
Does it operate on the US border?
Despite the blows to its regional operations in Latin America, Tren de Aragua’s reputation continues to grow. In the United States, the criminal presence of this gang has been detected by authorities in 16 states of the American nation. In July, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added the Tren de Aragua to its list of transnational criminal organizations and highlighted that it was a “growing threat” for American communities.
Several US politicians have called for action against the group, including President-elect Donald Trump, who believes that some cities have been “taken over” by the Aragua Train.
The open border policy of the Joe Biden administration has facilitated the entry of members of the criminal gang; more than a dozen have already been captured by US authorities. More than 11 million encounters of immigrants after making illegal crossings into the United States have been reported by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) since Biden arrived at the White House.
The OFAC designation came after a series of media reports suggesting that the Aragua Train was not only smuggling migrants in South America, but was also actively operating on Mexico’s northern border and was “invading” the United States by hiding migrants. its members among migrants. Although crimes have been attributed to alleged members of the Tren de Aragua in some American cities, national, state, and local authorities have been unable to establish links between those individuals and the group’s overall structure or its leadership.
The presence of the gang in the US is worrying
There are now concerns that the gang’s ruthless tactics will reach U.S. shores as its members infiltrate the nearly one million Venezuelan migrants who have arrived in the country in recent years.
Eleven Republicans led by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland last September calling for a coordinated strategy from the Biden administration to combat the gang.
“The weak application of the laws of immigration “On the part of the administration, it allows gangs, such as the Tren de Aragua, to control routes and exploit migrants,” the letter says.
