THE Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which was designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States in February, along with several other drug cartels, has had a presence in Trinidad and Tobago for the past three years.
This according to data and a detailed analysis of Venezuela's 2024 drug trafficking activities released earlier this year by Transparencia Venezuela.
This information has also been validated by several law enforcement sources who spoke with the Sunday Express.
In an online update on its website on April 1, Transparencia Venezuela summarised the activities of what they termed a mega gang that developed within the Tocoron prison, Venezuela, in 2015.
It stated, 'The Tren de Aragua operates in countries where the most Venezuelan migrants have arrived, such as Colombia, Peru, Chile, Panama, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the United States and Mexico, setting off alarm bells in countries such as Canada and even Spain, where since 2022 there have been indications of possible money laundering by this criminal organisation on its territory, according to Chilean investigations.'
A former national security official, who has since transferred to another specialised sector to monitor crime in the country, informed the Sunday Express that he has been aware of their existence in Trinidad since 2022.
'By speaking to Venezuelan migrants in certain areas of Trinidad over the years, we know they have pockets in Central, South and along the East-West Corridor. We have information that there is a main cell operating in a certain area in Central (name of location called),' said the official.
According to the senior source, members of this particular gang follow a dress code.
'They wear their hats differently than most people, and they have specific tattoos,' he said. 'We know that the information provided by some of these Venezuelan migrants helps us differentiate who belongs to the gang.'
While some may assist law enforcement agencies around the world, Transparencia Venezuela says many Venezuelan migrants who fled during the humanitarian crisis in their country are beholden to Tren de Aragua.
'The Tren de Aragua adopted migrant smuggling as its core business following the exodus of Venezuelans, especially since 2017, establishing a system of 'coyotes' and 'tourism agencies' to profit from the tragedy of tens of thousands of people fleeing Venezuela, fleeing the complex humanitarian emergency. This business opportunity led them to follow migrants and seize market share in the towns where Venezuelans, especially, settled,' the organisation's report stated.
It added, 'The Aragua Train exploits the vulnerability of Venezuelan migrants who, due to their irregular status, are afraid to pursue legal proceedings, either due to a feeling of lack of protection or distrust in the judicial system of their host country. Venezuelans lack a culture of reporting, or they don't report because there are practices that are naturalised as a means of survival. Furthermore, they are unfamiliar with the legal system of criminal activity and become victims of invisible crimes that generate impunity.'
Transparencia Venezuela, in its 101-page report, pointed out that Tren de Aragua started off with crimes such as extortion and kidnapping, and now has been formally accused of involvement in drug trafficking, as well as migrant trafficking, illegal mining, and smuggling.
Murder is also on the long list as the gang, according to Transparencia Venezuela, 'are especially cruel because they dismember their victims, shoot them dozens of times, torture them, and publish videos of these acts on social media'.
It recalled examples such as remains scattered in black bags in Bogota, Colombia, as well as the case of two men buried alive in Peru and a trans sex worker riddled with 30 gunshots, also in that country, 'among other atrocities'.
'There were a few homicides last year and even the year before that would have followed this modus operandi of this particular gang,' a senior police source told the Sunday Express.
But still there remains no definitive connection.
'But in some cases, the killings have been classified as gang-related,' the source said.
And while law enforcement in T&T says they have only known about the existence of Tren de Aragua here just over three years ago, Transparencia Venezuela, in its report, found that since 2018, 'five years before the police and military intervention in the Torocon prison, there were already reports of the Tren de Aragua actions on the border of Venezuela with Colombia and Brazil, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, and Chile committing crimes of extortion, migrant trafficking, illegal mining, and smuggling, especially gasoline.
'It is noted that the expansion of the Tren de Aragua has posed security challenges to the region, not only because it highlights the institutional weakness of the various governments along its borders but also because the prison has served as a training ground for criminals.'
A high-ranking intelligence source with knowledge of the gang's activities here believes they don't associate with any of Trinidad's local gangs.
'They are heavily focused on human and drug trafficking, and as far as we are aware, we haven't seen any communications with local gangs. A lot of people make up stuff about gang relationships. These Venezuelans don't trust Trini gangsters,' he told the Sunday Express.
The Transparencia Venezuela study revealed certain findings about Tren de Aragua when it enters another country.
'The Tren de Aragua negotiates with local gangs, setting limits on their activity, initially in the neighbourhoods where the Venezuelan migrant population settles, and in a second phase, extending its influence to other areas and other illicit businesses,' it reported.
Two other law enforcement sources who had assisted in compiling intelligence reports about Tren de Aragua in the past said it was a 'well-connected organisation across several countries with diverse players'.
Apart from the major criminal gangs like Tren de Aragua that forge alliances with international criminal organisations and guerilla groups, Transparencia Venezuela pointed to a second group known as the 'enablers'.
They are described in the report as 'people who have formal and legal jobs but use their positions to contribute to the continuity of crime in exchange for money. In both cases, the boundaries tend to blur...defence personnel who are bribed to allow drugs to circulate in the country and refrain from punishing criminals, and even judiciary officials who receive payments to facilitate impunity'.
Transparencia Venezuela said the gang's main leader in the Tocoron prison was Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias 'Nino Guerrero'.
Prior to a prison raid in September 2023, Guerrero escaped and is believed to be hiding in Colombia with another suspected gang leader, Giovanni San Vincente, alias 'El Viejo', for whom the US State Department has offered a US$3 million reward for information leading to his arrest, while a US$5 million reward has been offered for Guerrero's arrest, as well as the third leader, Johan Jose Romero.
The Transparencia Venezuela report-which draws from several international sources, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), and US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs-finds that all 'agree that Venezuela is a bridge for drug shipments originating in Colombia shipped by air, land, or sea to Central American and Caribbean countries, from where they are further sent to North America, Europe, Africa and other destinations where most of the final consumers are located'.
According to Transparencia Venezuela, drug trafficking in Venezuela generated a gross income of US$8,236 million in 2024, with the estimated circulation of approximately 639 tonnes of cocaine in that country.
The report highlights that the main departure points for contraband from Tren de Aragua and several other drug cartels are 'in the west of Venezuela in the states of Zulia and Falcon; in the centre, including the states of La Guaira and Carabobo, where the main ports and airports are located; and in the east, from the states of Nueva Esparta, Sucre, Monagas, and Delta Amacuro, just a few kilometres off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago'.
T&T transshipment point
T&T, in the Transparencia Venezuela report, is described as 'a country that serves as a transshipment point of illicit substances that are subsequently sent to other Caribbean countries, the United States or Europe'.
One of the main routes used by drug traffickers, according to the Transparencia Venezuela report, was 'leaving the town of Guiria, in the Valdez municipality-merely 100 kilometres away from Trinidad and Tobago-a route used by small boats transporting drug shipments'.
Another area pinpointed by the drug traffickers is the Delta Amacuro state and its proximity to T& T, as the Transparencia Venezuela report on page 28 states, 'The drugs get there in packages that are usually smaller and travel in smaller vessels. However, the presence of semi-submersible submarines has also been identified in this area.'
The Transparencia Venezuela report further pointed out that one of the routes identified starts on the Colombian border with the state of Amazonas, in southern Venezuela.
'The loaded boats use the Orinoco River to cross the entire state and reach the states of Monagas and Delta Amacuro, where it ultimately leaves the country bound for Trinidad and Tobago or other nearby countries.'
Transparencia Venezuela said the average wholesale price of cocaine in Central America is US$13,017 per kilogramme, while in Caribbean countries they fetch US$12,602 per kilogramme. The wholesale price skyrockets in North America to US$29,802 per kilogramme, while in Europe it climbs even higher to US$32,516 per kilogramme.
