A suspected multistate human trafficking network allegedly coercing immigrant women into the sex trade. The perplexing homicide of a former law enforcement officer in South Florida. Assaults targeting police officers in New York. The apprehension of a narcotics dealer in Chicago.

According to local and federal authorities, these seemingly disparate incidents share a common thread: Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal syndicate originating in a Venezuelan prison and gradually expanding its reach southward and northward in recent years. They assert that it has now established a presence in the United States. While the extent of its activities remains uncertain, offenses attributed to purported members of the organization have raised concerns among elected officials, prompting some Republican members of Congress to urge the Biden administration to formally classify the ruthless Tren de Aragua as a Transnational Criminal Organization.

For years, this criminal faction has instilled fear across various South American nations, including its country of origin, Venezuela, as well as Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, and Peru. Retired General Óscar Naranjo, former vice president of Colombia and ex-chief of the Colombian National Police, conveyed to CNN that Tren de Aragua represents “the most disruptive criminal entity presently operating in Latin America, posing a significant challenge for the region.”

Between 2013 and 2015, Tren de Aragua adopted its name, though its operations had commenced years prior, as per a report by Transparency Venezuela. The genesis of the organization traces back to the amalgamation of labor unions comprising workers involved in a railway construction project meant to link the center-west regions of Venezuela a project that remained incomplete in the states of Aragua and Carabobo.

The report indicates that the group’s leadership was headquartered within the infamous Tocorón prison, which they effectively governed. During a Venezuelan official raid last September, authorities discovered amenities such as a swimming pool and multiple restaurants within the prison premises. Additionally, confiscated from inmates were various weapons, including automatic rifles, machine guns, and a substantial cache of ammunition.

Yes, Tren de Aragua is considered to be established in the United States, according to US Customs and Border Protection and the FBI.

“They have followed the migration paths across South America to other countries and have set up criminal groups throughout South America as they follow those paths, and that they appear to follow the migration north to the United States,” remarked Britton Boyd, an FBI special agent in El Paso, Texas, to CNN.

US Border Patrol chief Jason Owens, who confirmed multiple arrests at the southern border of alleged Tren de Aragua members over the last year, issued a warning in early April. “Watch out for this gang. It is the most powerful in Venezuela, known for murder, drug trafficking, sex crimes, extortion, & other violent acts,” Owens stated.

Law enforcement documents or prosecutors’ complaints mention Tren de Aragua in more than 70 cases. Customs and Border Patrol in Texas has identified 58 individuals as gang members between the fiscal year 2023 and last May. The remaining cases involve complaints from victims or arrest reports suggesting possible involvement with this organized crime group.

In New York, police reported that Bernardo Raul Castro-Mata, a 19-year-old from Venezuela, shot two police officers last week. Castro-Mata entered the country illegally last July, according to a member of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Venezuelan bears tattoos associated with Tren de Aragua, such as five-pointed crowns, stars, and teardrops, as described in court documents for a suspected gang member in Georgia, as per the New York Police Department. Castro-Mata had no prior arrests but is suspected in several robberies in Queens.

Castro-Mata remains in custody and has pleaded not guilty to charges. When contacted by CNN, his attorneys declined to comment.

Among all the crimes attributed to the gang, one stands out, including the kidnapping and murder of a former Venezuelan police officer in South Florida in November 2023. In late April, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call from a Spanish-speaking woman claiming she was being held against her will at a residence and “forced to have sexual intercourse with unknown males for money.” Subsequently, the woman informed investigators that she was compelled to engage in sexual acts with strangers “to pay off a $30,000 USD debt to a trafficker for bringing her to the United States.”

Two suspects, both Venezuelan nationals, were apprehended at the location: Allbert Herrera Machado, 23, and Osleidy Vanesa Chourio-Diaz, 26. Subsequently, agents arrested another Venezuelan, Josmar Jesus Zambrano-Chirinos, 23, identified in the complaint as a leader of the sex trafficking operation conducted by Tren de Aragua in the US. According to the criminal complaint reviewed by CNN, Zambrano was “operating ‘stash houses’ used for human trafficking in Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, New Jersey, and Florida.” However, Herrera Machado and Chourio-Diaz were not linked to Tren de Aragua in the complaint.

If the allegations against the suspects prove true, it indicates that the gang already possesses the capability to operate trafficking rings in the US, similar to its activities in various South American countries. The challenge for law enforcement officials lies in determining the extent of Tren de Aragua’s presence in the country, despite these arrests. Some Venezuelan immigrants in Florida and other states have informed CNN that they are witnessing the emergence of similar criminal activities in their communities, reminiscent of those they fled in Venezuela.

Álvaro Boza, a former Venezuelan police officer now residing in Florida, fled his country primarily due to the gang’s formidable power. According to Boza, they could eliminate law enforcement officers like him with impunity. Boza recounted the story of a fellow police officer in his native Aragua state who was shot 50 times for refusing to cooperate with the gang. “He refused and was murdered. They tied his body to a motorcycle and dragged it throughout the San Vicente neighborhood to demonstrate the power of the Tren de Aragua,” Boza recounted.

In March, a group of Republican members of Congress, led by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and his fellow Republican Representative Ana María Salazar, addressed a letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to designate the gang as a “transnational criminal organization.” In the letter, the legislators warned, “If left unchecked, they will unleash an unprecedented reign of terror, mirroring the devastation it has already inflicted in communities throughout Central and South America, most prominently in Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru.”

It would appear that open borders have consequences.