It feels like just yesterday that the left was braying about alleged members of the Venezuelan transnational gang Tren de Aragua being sent to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prisons as part of their deportation. That’s because, more or less, it was yesterday.
However, over the next few weeks, we might see the same leftists braying a different tune — this time involving the fact that they aren’t being deported via CECOT but might be spending the next few decades in federal prison.
On Monday, the Department of Justice dropped two major indictments involving 27 members of Tren de Aragua on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations charges. The alleged crimes range from sex and drug trafficking to racketeering to firearms crimes.
“Of the 27 defendants, 21 are in federal custody, including 16 who were already in federal criminal, immigration, or state custody and five who were arrested last night and today in operations in New York and other jurisdictions,” a Monday media release from the Department of Justice read.
The indictment alleged that the gang’s purpose included “[p]reserving and protecting the power and territory of TdA and its members and associates through acts involving murder, assault, robbery, other acts of violence, and threats of violence, including acts of violence and threats of violence directed at former members and associates of TdA who associated with a splinter organization known as Anti-Tren.”
In addition, the gang allegedly smuggled young women from Venezuela into both Peru and the United States, often to be sex trafficked.
The gang was also involved in the distribution of an illicit drug cocktail called “tusi,” the indictment alleged — a cocktail of ketamine, MDMA, and other illegal substances.
The various charges against the 27 individuals named in the indictment can carry up to 15 to 20 years in prison.
In the media release, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi made it clear that the Department of Justice planned to treat Tren de Aragua as a serious terror threat.
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“As alleged, Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang — it is a highly structured terrorist organization that has destroyed American families with brutal violence, engaged in human trafficking, and spread deadly drugs through our communities,” Bondi said.
“Today’s indictments and arrests span three states and will devastate TdA’s infrastructure as we work to completely dismantle and purge this organization from our country.”
New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whose department played a role in the busts, concurred.
“Tren de Aragua is one of the most dangerous gangs in the country, and the NYPD has taken significant action to shut down their operations in New York City,” Tisch said.
“For the first time ever, TdA is being named and charged as the criminal enterprise that it is. This isn’t just street crime — it’s organized racketeering, and this gang has shown zero regard for the safety of New Yorkers.
“As alleged in the indictment, these defendants wreaked havoc in our communities, trafficking women for sexual exploitation, flooding our streets with drugs, and committing violent crimes with illegal guns. Thanks to the dedicated members of the NYPD and the important work of our federal partners, their time is up.”
Moreover, when the indictment was unsealed Wednesday, the Department of Justice said that it had serious dirt on Jose Enrique Martinez Florez — known as “Chuqui” — who “is a high-ranking TdA leader in Bogota, Colombia and is part of the inner circle of senior TdA leadership,” according to The Hill.
“Flores also allegedly caused the delivery of approximately five kilograms or more of cocaine for international distribution, proceeds that were used to further TdA’s criminal goals.”
Flores was arrested in Colombia on March 31 on an American warrant. As of Wednesday evening, he remains in Colombian custody.
FBI Director Kash Patel touted the arrest on social media, saying that the “charges are a major step in breaking the operations of violent terrorist gangs and rooting them out of American communities.”
BREAKING: Along with @AGPamBondi, tonight I can confirm Jose Enrique Martinez Flores, an allegedly high-ranking member of Tren de Aragua arrested by the FBI in March, had his indictment unsealed today.@TheJusticeDept is officially charging him with support of a terrorist…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) April 24, 2025
“This FBI is letting good cops be cops. This is the result,” Patel added.
What a difference an administration makes.
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