Tren de Aragua: Venezuela Denies Existence of Criminal Gang

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil has denied that the transnational criminal gang known as the Tren de Aragua (Aragua Train) exists, speaking to his Colombian counterpart, Luis Gilberto Murillo.

“The international media fabricates the fiction of the Aragua Train to impose a non-existent label…… they did the same at the time with the Cartel de los Soles. Evidence shows that it has never existed,” Gil said in a statement to Murillo. The pair met on Monday, April 8, 2024, in the Colombian city of Cúcuta to discuss bilateral issues.

According to Gil, “Now they are inventing a so-called Aragua Train, an organization that existed in Venezuela. We’ve seen ridiculous videos of people saying “We are from the Aragua Train” with different accents.

What is the Aragua Train?

The Aragua Train is a gang that originated in Venezuelan prisons and has spread to several Latin American countries. Some of them include Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. International authorities accuse it of committing numerous crimes, including drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and homicide, among others. The criminal gang was founded in the early 2010s and is characterized by operating internationally through the Americas. The organization works directly from the Tocorón prison. The facility has functioned as its defacto headquarters. In its almost 15 years of operation, the Aragua Train has expanded its operations through Latin America and even crossed into the United States.

Furthermore, a phenomenon that has significantly helped in this expansion has been the Venezuelan refugee crisis.

Gil stated that the Venezuelan authorities have shown the inexistence of the Aragua Train and have collaborated with Latin American and Caribbean institutions for citizen security and crime fighting.

The Venezuelan foreign minister added that even former US President Donald Trump has referred to the Aragua Train. He stated, “As they always want to speak ill of Venezuela, they invented…. an organization and claim that it threatens world security.”