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2h ago

U.S. Announces Arrests and Charges of Eight Alleged Tren de Aragua Members

Officials say the Foreign Terrorist Organization label expanded terrorism, racketeering, investigative tools to boost extraditions, prosecutions, international takedowns.

FILE - In this handout photo provided by the Salvadoran government, view of the inmates allegedly linked to criminal organizations, getting off the buses at CECOT on March 16, 2025, in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (Photo by Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)
In this handout photo provided by the Salvadoran government, inmates allegedly linked to criminal organizations knee on the ground at CECOT on March 16, 2025, in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (Photo by Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)
FILE - In this handout photo provided by the Salvadoran government, a guard watches the inmates allegedly linked to criminal organizations sitting on the floor at CECOT on March 16, 2025, in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (Photo by Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson is leading a 24-state friend-of-the-court brief supporting President Donald Trump’s authority to act against members of the Tren de Aragua gang under the Alien Enemies Act. (Photo by Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)

Overview

  • Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel announced Wednesday that eight alleged Tren de Aragua members were arrested and charged in separate Texas and Illinois cases with kidnappings and murders.
  • On May 15 federal authorities extradited Jose Enrique “Chuqui” Martinez Flores from Colombia to face terrorism-related charges in Houston in what officials called a first-of-its-kind prosecution tied to the group's leadership.
  • President Trump said on June 12 that a U.S. lethal strike killed alleged leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, who had been charged with racketeering conspiracy and aiding terrorists.
  • Officials credited the FTO designation for giving prosecutors new tools and reported a 519 percent increase in Tren de Aragua arrests while expanding use of racketeering, kidnapping and terrorism statutes.
  • Several senior suspects remain fugitives with multi-million-dollar State Department rewards and one on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list, and prosecutions carry potential life sentences while aiming to address violence and extortion that affected communities in Texas, Illinois and New York.