Eight members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua charged with kidnapping and murder in U.S.
U.S. prosecutors announced kidnapping and murder charges against eight alleged members of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization, who entered the country illegally between December 2021 and April 2024.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department has filed new kidnapping and murder charges against eight individuals alleged to belong to the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua. All eight are accused of having crossed the southern border illegally between December 2021 and April 2024.
In Texas, five defendants are charged in connection with the August 24, 2024 abduction of a man and his two children in the Dallas area. According to U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould, the victims were restrained, the adults were demanded for money, and when the man could not pay, he was shot after being forced to jump from a bridge. The children were later found unharmed. The accused include Hector Garcia Zuniga, identified as a high-ranking member of the group, and four others.
In Illinois, three additional defendants face charges related to the kidnapping, beating and fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man in Chicago. U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutrous said the victim was taken from a park, held for several hours in an apartment, and then shot multiple times. The alleged perpetrators are Kleiver Monasterio Briceno, Jose Pacheco Torres and an unnamed third individual.
Blanche noted that the charges follow a broader effort to prosecute members of Tren de Aragua, a transnational gang that originated in Venezuela. He said nearly 350 members and associates have been charged with a range of violent and financial crimes since the previous administration took office. FBI Director Kash Patel added that arrests of gang members have increased significantly since that time.