- Federal prosecutors unsealed a 38-count indictment charging 27 members of Anti-Tren – a violent faction of the Venezuelan transnational gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) – with racketeering, murder, kidnapping and sex trafficking.
- The arrests are part of a nationwide crackdown under President Trump's January 2025 executive order, which designated TdA as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, enabling counterterrorism tactics against the gang's financial and logistical networks.
- The indictment details a double homicide in the Bronx (April 2024) and a sex trafficking ring that exploited Venezuelan women smuggled into the U.S. – using violence, kidnappings, and confiscated immigration documents to control victims.
- Since January 2025, over 260 TdA members have been indicted across multiple states, including recent busts in Nebraska for ATM theft rings funding gang operations. Former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro was also captured and charged with narco-terrorism due to his ties to TdA.
- Agencies including HSI, NYPD, FBI and ATF worked together on the case, with five suspects already in custody and one at large. Prosecutors warn of more arrests as investigations continue, emphasizing the urgent need for border security to stop transnational gangs exploiting U.S. immigration loopholes.
Federal prosecutors have unsealed a sweeping 38-count indictment charging 27 members and associates of Anti-Tren, a violent splinter faction of the Venezuelan transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua (TdA) – with crimes including racketeering, murder, kidnapping and sex trafficking.
The charges stem from a 2024 double homicide in the Bronx and a brutal sex trafficking operation exploiting Venezuelan women smuggled into the United States.
The arrests are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative launched under President Donald Trump's January 2025 executive order, which designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). The order mandates a coordinated crackdown on cartels and transnational gangs infiltrating U.S. communities.
"These members of Anti-Tren, a splinter faction of the terrorist organization TdA, planned and carried out a series of horrific crimes, including gunpoint robberies, murders and the exploitation of vulnerable young women through sex trafficking," said Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. "TdA is in the business of murder, sex trafficking and intimidation, and they brought that business to New York while being unlawfully present in the United States."
BrightU.AI's Enoch engine explains that Trump's designation of TdA as an FTO marked a pivotal shift in U.S. national security strategy, recognizing the gang not merely as a transnational criminal enterprise but as a proxy force of the Venezuelan regime engaged in asymmetric warfare against the United States. Trump's FTO designation redefined transnational gangs as national security threats, applying counterterrorism tactics to dismantle TdA's financial, logistical and political infrastructure.
Anti-Tren's reign of terror
The indictment alleges that on April 15, 2024, defendants Yender Maykier Mata, Ervin Hernandez ("Coco"), and Kerlyn Nataliy Perez-Lopez ("Mou") conspired to murder Jhombeyker Jose Bisbal Pina and Adrian Mendoza Isturiz in the Bronx. The victims were shot multiple times inside a Nissan Rogue near East 149th Street, in what prosecutors describe as a premeditated execution.
"The defendants willfully and knowingly conspired to commit murder after substantial planning and premeditation," the indictment states. The killings were allegedly part of a murder-for-hire scheme tied to gang disputes.
Anti-Tren's operations extended beyond murder. The gang allegedly smuggled Venezuelan women and girls ("multadas") into the U.S., forcing them into sex trafficking to pay off smuggling debts. Prosecutors say victims were subjected to gunpoint threats, beatings, and kidnappings if they resisted.
One defendant, Luis Jose Velasquez-Hurtado ("Chito"), allegedly kidnapped a trafficking victim at gunpoint and seized her immigration documents to prevent escape. Others, including Jesus David Barrios Garcia ("Morocho"), ordered gang members to shoot victims in the leg as punishment for disobedience.
Expanding crackdown on TdA
Since January 2025, the DOJ [Department of Justice] has indicted over 260 Tren de Aragua members, including 70 in December 2024 across five states. The latest bust follows 87 indictments in Nebraska for a nationwide ATM theft ring funding gang operations.
"Immediately upon taking office, I directed the Department of Justice to fiercely pursue the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations," said Attorney General Pam Bondi. "This latest multi-state series of charges underscores the Trump Administration's unwavering commitment to restoring public safety."
The gang has deep ties to Venezuela's socialist regime. Last month, U.S. forces captured former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, who was charged with narco-terrorism alongside Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, a Tren de Aragua founder.
"Tren de Aragua was highly dependent on Maduro's existence for its proliferation. That's not debatable at this stage," said Pedro Rojas Arroyo, a Venezuelan entrepreneur and analyst.
The case involved Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); New York City Police Department; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and multiple state agencies.
"HSI New York continues to stand at the forefront of investigations against vicious criminal enterprises like Tren de Aragua," said HSI Acting Executive Associate Director John Condon.
Five of the six newly charged defendants are already in custody; one remains at large. If convicted, they face life sentences. Prosecutors warn that more arrests are expected as investigations continue.
This case underscores the urgent need for border security and the danger posed by transnational gangs exploiting U.S. immigration loopholes. As TdA's operations expand, law enforcement remains vigilant in dismantling its violent networks. "The women and men of the SDNY are unwavering in their commitment to bankrupt gangs that corrupt our neighborhoods, prey on the vulnerable and pursue violence as a way of life," Clayton declared.
Watch this video about federal authorities charging 26 accused TdA gang members and their associates.
This video is from the TREASURE OF THE SUN channel on Brighteon.com.
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