The Latin American Report # 430
An undercover operation conducted by the New York Queens District Attorney's Office, the NYPD, and other agencies resulted in indictments against ten Venezuelan immigrants, allegedly members or associates of the Tren de Aragua (Aragua Train) criminal organization. The operation lasted about eight months and hit a New York City-based arms trafficking network that sought to expand internationally. Six of the Venezuelans indicted face drug and conspiracy charges. The Aragua Train emerged from the Tocorón prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua, from where it expanded nationally and then regionally, infiltrating the massive exodus of Venezuelans driven by the country's acute political and economic crisis. The Venezuelan government claimed victory over the organization in 2024 when it raided Tocorón, which was run by pran Hector Guerrero Flores, alias “Niño Guerrero”. The gang leader suspiciously escaped before such a raid and is still at large. Chile, Peru, and Colombia denounce the presence of cells of the Tren de Aragua in their territories.
Trump has incorporated this criminal organization—linked to several crimes on U.S. soil—into his harsh anti-immigrant narrative, along with the case of the Haitians in Springfield, Ohio. All of the indicted entered the United States illegally, according to statements from a senior NYPD official. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz reported that 34 “dangerous” weapons were seized, including two ghost guns, an AR-style rifle, and a functional, automatic weapon-like item. Many trafficking operations happened in broad daylight. Some indeed were in a shopping center parking lot, while an AR-15 was traded hidden in a garbage bag on a random afternoon in the Bronx. Two indicted individuals were taken into custody in Houston and Miami, four in New York, two others were already in prison while two are at large. Undercover agents bought guns and drugs from the criminal group to thwart its criminal agenda. In this sense, I was very interested that one of the drugs marketed was pink cocaine (also called tusi), quite popularized in songs by controversial contemporary Latin music icons such as Peso Pluma and Bad Bunny.
Seized weapons (source of the image).Guantánamo
The U.S. president signed the Laken Riley Act on Wednesday, named after a young nursing student who was killed by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant in 2024, another case politically exploited by the Republican MAGA army. “She was a light of warmth and kindness,” Trump said in the presence of Riley's parents. “It's a tremendous tribute to your daughter what's taking place today, that's all I can say. It's so sad we have to be doing it.” At the ceremony, the 47th president confirmed reports earlier Wednesday that his administration was considering sending immigrant deportees to the Guantanamo Naval Base, an infamous enclave the U.S. government maintains in Cuba against the will of the 1959-born political regime. Havana defends that the treaty enabling the concession in the early 20th century was negotiated under conditions unfavorable to the nascent Cuban Republic. “We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal aliens threatening the American people,” Trump stated.
With waterboarding or without? https://t.co/iW9dSMUX9M
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 29, 2025
More updates via X
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discusses repurposing the golf course at Guantanamo Bay to house immigrants who are delayed in the deportation process pic.twitter.com/0YCidFX7qF
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 29, 2025
READ HERE THE WHITE HOUSE MEMORANDUM ON EXPANDING MIGRANT OPERATIONS CENTER AT GUANTANAMO BAY.
Panama, here we go again
Defense Secretary Hegseth: We retain the right to do what is necessary to make sure there is free navigation in the Panama Canal. pic.twitter.com/rjlHDmOMpq
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 30, 2025
Good thread 👇 on Menendez´s 11-year sentence. A new Republican has been born?
Some stunning remarks from Menendez outside court: “President Trump was right. This process is political, and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.” pic.twitter.com/woFgHgFGqM
— Molly Crane-Newman (@molcranenewman) January 29, 2025
Incidentally, after learning of the sentence, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele recalled that Bob Menendez criticized his government's bet on Bitcoin, presenting it as a strategy for money laundering and corruption. “The thief judges by his condition,” Bukele finished off.
Lawmakers in El Salvador rush new bitcoin reform after IMF deal https://t.co/Kn3Twadqlg
— ST Foreign Desk (@STForeignDesk) January 30, 2025
Colombia: a brief update to the crisis in Catatumbo
In the troubled town of Teorama, 13 corpses were found last Monday, linked to the fierce fighting between the National Liberation Army and a division of the FARC-EP´s holdouts in the Norte de Santander state. There were three minors among the dead, unforgivable victims of a crisis that would have nothing to do with them in an ideal world. Although there is talk of up to 80 dead, the authorities had only recovered about 50 bodies as of Wednesday. There are thousands of displaced people, including a batch in Venezuela, which promised to help. Some 70 social leaders went to the Colombian capital yesterday to demand an end to the crisis, which incidentally denotes the inability of the State to enforce the law in certain contexts.
Colombia offers $700,000 reward for information on ELN rebel leaders https://t.co/2tKE603JUE
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 26, 2025
And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.
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