Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is now present in 46 states as the Trump administration works to crack down on the criminal organization.
Newsnation’s Ali Bradley said in a post on X that DHS indicated the gang is now in at least 46 states. “This is one of the most vicious gangs on planet earth,” the agency said, according to Bradley. “They rape, maim, and murder for sport.”
#BREAKING DHS reports that Tren de Aragua is now present in at least 46 states—The violent Venezuelan gang has been designated as a terrorist organization under the Trump administration.
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) March 17, 2026
DHS saying, “This is one of the most vicious gangs on planet earth. They rape, maim, and…
This suggests that the Tren de Aragua problem has grown from a few scattered crimes or border cases. The Trump administration labeled the gang a terrorist organization last year and has been aggressively pursuing its operatives in the United States.
The gang grew out of Venezuela’s prison system and later grew into a transnational criminal enterprise, according to the Treasury Department.
From its origins as a prison gang in Aragua, Venezuela, Tren de Aragua has quickly expanded throughout the Western Hemisphere in recent years. With a particular focus on human smuggling and other illicit acts that target desperate migrants, the organization has developed additional revenue sources through a range of criminal activities, such as illegal mining, kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, and the trafficking of illicit drugs such as cocaine and MDMA.
Tren de Aragua poses a deadly criminal threat across the region. For example, Tren de Aragua leverages its transnational networks to traffic people, especially migrant women and girls, across borders for sex trafficking and debt bondage. When victims seek to escape this exploitation, Tren de Aragua members often kill them and publicize their deaths as a threat to others.
United States Arrests Alleged Tren de Aragua Leader Charged in Chile With Criminal Association, Extortion and Kidnapping Resulting in Homicide
— Criminal Division (@DOJCrimDiv) March 13, 2026TdA operatives tend to move in smaller cells that can blend in with illegal and legal immigrants traveling across the southern border. Upon arriving, they quickly gather into regional groups to participate in criminal activity.
“This illegal alien from Venezuela is an alleged leader of the foreign terrorist organization TdA,” said @DAGToddBlanche. “While in the… pic.twitter.com/C9c2JFuxWY
In the U.S., the gang’s footprint is fragmented and dispersed across numerous states and cities instead of functioning as a centralized structure.
The government has cracked down heavily on the gang and its members. DHS says it has arrested 7,000 illegal immigrants belonging to TdA and other Latin American gangs during President Donald Trump’s first year back in office.