Between Femicides, Trafficking and Cells: One Year Since the Arrival of the Aragua Train in Mexico

Mexico has reinforced intelligence and international cooperation to contain the expansion of the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization that has gained a significant presence in Latin America over the past five years.

For the past year, the group has placed Mexico in a critical phase of surveillance, detection, and neutralization of its cells before they could consolidate their presence in the territory, ministerial agents focused on locating and apprehending them told MILENIO.

Actions against the Tren de Aragua

To date, eight people linked to the Tren de Aragua have been apprehended in Mexico, connected to acts of extortion, loan sharking, express kidnapping, digital fraud, sexual exploitation of women, as well as the distribution of narcotics in bars, concerts, and private residences, and large-scale drug trafficking across the border.

In recent months, U.S. authorities, including President Donald Trump, linked the Tren de Aragua to drug trafficking from Venezuela via the Pacific, leading to the announcement of a series of military operations in the area of ​​responsibility of the Southern Command.

“The Tren de Aragua is a Foreign Terrorist Organization designated by the State Department, which operates under the control of Nicolás Maduro and is responsible for mass killings, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and acts of violence and terror in the United States and the Western Hemisphere,” Trump wrote on social media in September.

In Mexico, alarms were raised after the murder of two Venezuelan women, whose bodies were found on July 30 in an area near San Miguel Topilejo, at kilometer 32 of the Mexico-Cuernavaca federal highway. Authorities warned of the presence of a cell of the organization, which until then was only known to operate in Chiapas.

The women, Stephanie and Susej, were 19 and 20 years old, respectively, and were forced to provide sexual services.  They were among 22 Venezuelan women working in the Sullivan area, offering services for approximately 1,200 pesos for half an hour, including the hotel room. The leads pointed to a cell of the Tren de Aragua gang, and in December 2024, four men and one woman linked to the criminal organization were arrested for their alleged involvement in the femicide of the two young women.

The five individuals, all of Venezuelan origin—including the woman—were apprehended in Privada Ejido Cuautepec, in the Gustavo A. Madero borough, during a raid on a property in the Santa Isabel Tola neighborhood.

They were identified as Dayerlin Johan ‘N’, 26 years old; Leonardo Abrahan ‘N’, 22; Deivis Daniel ‘N’, 23; Christopher Alexander, 20, and Euclides Manuel ‘N’, Morgan, the latter of whom is identified as the perpetrator of the double femicide.

In October, investigations led authorities to arrest Nelson Arturo ‘N’, Nelson, identified as the leader in Mexico of the Venezuelan criminal organization, which represented a major blow to that criminal group.

The man was arrested by federal agents in Mexico City along with two of his collaborators identified as Lucas Alberto ‘N’, 37 years old, considered the right-hand man of the leader, and Marcos Gabriel ‘N’, 36 years old, a direct collaborator in the criminal group’s operations. All are of Venezuelan nationality.

What does Mexico’s plan consist of?

Federal authorities, such as the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), the Navy, the National Guard, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (PSSPC), the National Intelligence Center (CNI), and the Financial Intelligence Unit, in addition to Mexico City authorities, are for the first time integrating an intervention model that combines field intelligence, financial analysis, biometric identity verification, and international cooperation.

The intervention places special emphasis on Colombia, Peru, Chile, the United States, and Panama, where the criminal structure has an active presence, the sources consulted added.

Unlike traditional Mexican cartels, they added, the Tren de Aragua operates under a model of small cells, with high mobility, the ability to blend in among migratory flows, and immediate criminal diversification.

Mexican authorities and security analyses have confirmed the operation of the Venezuelan organization in Hidalgo, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Baja California, Chiapas, Puebla, the State of Mexico, Chihuahua, Mexico City, and Quintana Roo.

The cases detected in the Mexican capital and Cozumel show that the group seeks to establish microstructures in tourist and urban areas where they can operate with a low profile, the agents said. The importance of these detection efforts lies in preventing a recurrence of what happened in Chile or Peru, where the organization grew for years undetected, eventually becoming one of the main generators of violence.

The main actions of federal authorities are focused on preventing them from laundering money, acquiring assets with false identities, and establishing human trafficking networks, among other crimes, such as arms trafficking.

The SSPC and the CNI maintain constant communication with security authorities in Colombia, the United States, Peru, Chile, and Panama, who have shared patterns of behaviour among members of the Aragua Train, such as lists of members, tattoos, recruitment procedures, and altered documents.

This exchange allows for the identification of alerts at entry points, road crossings, immigration stations, and airports, authorities said.

Source: Milenio