Mexico City (AP) – A fatal US attack The boat accused of carrying drugs in the Caribbean this week is the latest in a series of extraordinary measures President Donald Trump has taken to combat the threat he sees. Tren de Aragua Gang.
The White House offers little details It claims Tuesday’s attack and 11 people on board are members of the gang. The criminal organization that traces its roots to Venezuelan prisons has not played a major role in global drug trafficking, but is known for its involvement in contract killings, tensions and human smuggling.
US officials haven’t explained it yet How did the military judge the people on the ship to be members of Tren de Aragua? The strike represents a paradigm shift in the way the US is willing to fight drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, sending a clear message to local governments and cross-border drug cartels.
Let’s take a look at Tren de Aragua:
Gang operations are spreading beyond Venezuela
Tren de Aragua began more than a decade ago in a notorious, lawless prison with a hardened criminal in the central state of Venezuela. The number of gangs has increased over 7.7 million in recent years. Venezuelans escaped economic turmoil I moved to other Latin American countries or the US
Trump and administration officials have consistently accused gangs of being at the roots of violence and illegal drug trafficking that torment some U.S. cities. Trump repeated his claim – Contradicts the declassified US intelligence report rating – Tren de Aragua is active under the control of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The size of the gang is unknown. Venezuelan immigrant countries, including Peru and Colombia, have accused the group of people of being behind them Violence in this area.
Chilean authorities first identified gang operations in 2022. Prosecutors and investigators say the group is primarily engaged in human trafficking and dominates unfair border crossings and sexual exploitation, but over time, members have expanded to more violent crimes, including tricking, torture, torture and managing close trafficking routes.
Still, unlike other crime groups in Colombia, Central America and Brazil, Tren de Aragua has no major involvement in smuggling cocaine across international borders, according to Insight Crime, a think tank that published a 64-page report on gangs based on two years of research.
“We’re looking forward to seeing you in the world,” said Jeremy McDermott, co-founder of Columbia-based Insight Crime.
McDermott added that digging into the drug trade one day is no major leap for gangs as the cells associated are spreading across Latin America.
Bolivia and Colombia, which have borders between the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean and Venezuela, are the world’s top cocaine producers.
Trump has designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization
On his first day in office, Trump took action Designating gangs as foreign terrorist organizations Alongside several Mexican drug cartels. The Biden administration had it Gang approved It provided a $12 million reward for the arrests of three leaders.
Trump’s executive order accused the gang of working closely with Maduro’s top officials, especially former vice president and former governor of Aragua, Tarek El Aisami, infiltrated the immigration stream, killed cocaine in the United States and conspiring against the country.
In March, Trump declared the group as an invasion force, evoking 18th century wartime laws, allowing the United States to deport non-citizens without legal reliance. Under Alien enemies do itThe administration sent over 250 Venezuelan men to The largest security prison in El Salvadorthey remained immovable until the deportation to Venezuela in July and remained without access to lawyers.
This week, a panel in the US Court of Appeals ruled Trump. You cannot use that law to accelerate deportation His administration has accused him of being a member of Tren de Aragua. The decision is directed towards a showdown in the Supreme Court.
Trump cites gangs in justifying military strikes
The United States has not announced the names and nationalities of the 11 people killed on Tuesday. It also does not provide an estimate of the amount of drug the boat said was carrying.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday told reporters that the US military continues to be deadly strikes against suspects in drug trafficking containers, but he dodged questions about strike details, including when people on boats were warned before the attack.
However, he said Trump “has the right to eliminate any imminent threats to the United States under extreme tension.”
“If you’re on a boat full of cocaine, fentanyl, etc., heading to the US is an imminent threat to the US,” he told reporters in Mexico City. Visit to Latin America.
The Venezuelan government, which has long minimized the existence of Tren de Aragua in the South American country, has limited its response to the strike to question the truthfulness of the video showing the attack. Communications Minister Freddie Unies suggested it was created using artificial intelligence, describing it as “an almost cartoonish animation, not a realistic portrayal of the explosion.”
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses replied that the strike was “undetectedly not artificial intelligence,” adding that he saw live footage from Washington when the strike took place.
Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, said the strike is “literally deadly serious” in targeting drug traffickers.
However, he questioned whether the link to Tren de Aragua had more to do with the “friendliness” that Americans now have with gangs.
“I certainly hope that the US government has the information. We filmed first and didn’t ask questions later,” Berg said.
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Associated Press author Joshua Goodman of Miami and Nayara Bacchuque of Santiago of Chile contributed to this report.
