In Bogotá that year, in an unusual way, dismembered bodies appeared, bagged or executed with a cruelty never seen before.
The violence of this criminal group not only caused the displacement of its countrymen in Venezuela, but also of the Colombians themselves, who accused the disappearance of family members by this gang, which thus pressured its victims to collect extortion.
If the ransom payment was not made, the forensic experts reported the appearance of the kidnapped people, terribly murdered.
However, the problem did not end there.
Members of “El Tren de Aragua” continued to pressure the families to pay “piso”, or the kidnappings would continue. The affected people ended up leaving Bogotá for Mexico.
The United States Government compared “El Tren de Aragua” with organizations such as the Salvadoran group MS-13 and the Italian Camorra.
The gang was accused of committing human trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, money laundering and smuggling, among other crimes.
In Chile, the United States, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Peru, the operation of this gang was also confirmed, which operates from the Aragua Penitentiary Center, better known as the Tocorón prison. Meanwhile, Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, “Niño Guerrero”, its best-known leader, is on the run.
In Mexico, “El Tren de Aragua” made its arrival in Chiapas in 2022, according to military records.
The gang was detected in Frontera Chimalapa and Tapachula, because it began to operate in the recruitment of women for prostitution and in the “drop by drop” loan. The organization operated in Chiapas until 2024.
Its menu of crimes included drug dealing, the operation of clandestine bars, the hoarding of hotels and homicides.
In addition, it was indicated, he sought alliances with local criminal cells for migrant trafficking and even the “organization of caravans” to travel to northern Mexico.
The members of the “Tren de Aragua” took their crimes to Mexico City, then to Chihuahua, Tabasco, Tamaulipas and Baja California, according to security sources.
They add that, to commit these crimes, the Venezuelans of the “Tren de Aragua” also paid a fee to established criminal organizations, especially to expand prostitution, “move” drugs and obtain weapons, mainly handguns.
Source: reforma
