Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua now operates in eleven Mexican states with the help of local groups such as Unión Tepito and La Anti-Unión

The Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, classified by the United States as a narco-terrorist organization, has consolidated its expansion in Mexico.

According to sources from the security cabinet, the criminal group has managed to infiltrate at least eleven states in the country since 2021, operating with an increasingly sophisticated network and adapting to evade authorities.

The gang members, who were initially identified by their striking tattoos of trains, crowns, and weapons, have modified their identification codes to go undetected. The gang, which originated in a Venezuelan prison, has found fertile ground in Mexico for illicit activities such as migrant smuggling, human trafficking for sexual exploitation, drug dealing, extortion, and kidnapping.

The Tren de Aragua gang has established a presence in key states, from the southern to the northern borders, including:

Chiapas
Quintana Roo
Tabasco
Veracruz
Hidalgo
Puebla
State of Mexico
Guanajuato
Mexico City
Tamaulipas
Chihuahua

Although they lack the military might of the Mexican cartels, they have managed to infiltrate their illicit operations, especially migrant and human trafficking, which are their specialty in other countries.

In Mexico City, the gang operates alongside local groups such as Unión Tepito and La Anti-Unión, primarily in areas of sex work and drug dealing. In December 2024, federal authorities arrested five Venezuelans in the capital, including Euclides Manuel Arias Suárez “Morgan,” identified as the leader of a Tren de Aragua cell and the alleged perpetrator of a double femicide.

The relationship between the Tren de Aragua and the Mexican cartels is one of “tactical collaboration” rather than “structural integration.”

The cartels use them as “criminal labor” and a “migration control network,” while the Venezuelan group benefits from the power and cover of local groups.

The United States’ decision to designate the Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization is a turning point, as it allows the US government to carry out military operations, arrests, and expedited deportations.

This measure increases pressure on Mexican authorities to more openly recognize and combat the gang’s presence.

For the Tren de Aragua, this designation could force them to seek greater refuge in Mexican criminal structures, which would strengthen their ties with the cartels. Vargas González asserts that while a massive US ground invasion of Venezuela is unlikely, targeted military operations against its leaders and vessels are expected, in addition to increased sanctions and diplomatic pressure on President Nicolás Maduro.