The origins of the Venezuelene band Arague train and why American policies can only make it stronger

When the US government deported 177 Venezuelas On February 20, 2025, the Department of Internal Security claimed that 80 of the deportees They were members of the Venezuelan band Aragua train.

US news points report that members have set up the store In at least 16 states and I am “making ravaging on communities across the country. “

According to Fox News, in February 2025 there was one “Infestation” of the members of Aragua train In a building of apartments in Aurora, Colorado.

Members suspected by Aragua train were arrested in Florida, Pennsylvania, new york, California, Texas and other states.

US Department of State went until it has been appointed Aragua train a foreign terrorist organization In the effort to stop “the campaigns of violence and terror committed by international cartels and transnational organizations”.

There is little reliable information about Aragua train – but there is no shortage of sensationalist news and Immigration and raids of customs application allegedly targeting them.

We are sociologists who have spent 37 years combined Band research, crime and police in Venezuela. Our research in Venezuela and research of our colleagues in other countries suggests that imprisonment and mass deportations Of the Venezuelans living in the US, whether they have connections with the group or not, they will probably consolidate Aragua train, rather than encrypt it.

Indeed, I have already seen how these strategies have contributed to the extension of street bands in El Salvador and Honduras, creating new opportunities for members to be network and becomes more organized.

What is Aragua train?

Conformable Investigative journalists and a hand of Academic studiesAragua train was initially founded by Hector “El Niño” Guerrero and two other men in 2014. The three men were incarcerated in Tocorón prison in the state of Aragua.

By 2017, Aragua train began to be known as “Megabanda”, A category that the local press in Venezuela uses to refer to large organized criminal groups. The term appeared to highlight the size of some street bands, which at that time was unprecedented in Venezuela.

Since its beginning, the gang has dependent on extortion. It also sells street drugs, but that was a much less important Source of income for IT.

The growth of Aragua train increased as a result of Mass imprisonment policies This began under the former president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez and expanded under the current president Nicolás Maduro. Incarceration rates began to grow in 2009 and were aggravated by the police raids held in 2010 in marginalized neighborhoods throughout the country. The prisons in Venezuela were filled with young and poor men.

Crowded together in inhuman conditionsmen began to Organize -wn in prison gangs with clear hierarchies. They have accumulated vast profits by charging the taxes of prisoners for food, using space and protection against prisoners’ violence. They also opened and led business, including a club, in Tocorón prison.

The members of the various bands in and out of prison also started To communicate and share information about criminal activities such as abduction and extortation. She strengthened social networks and expanded her illegal enterprises.

Arague train finally took over Tocorón prison control As the government became unable to manage daily life in its walls. He had become one of The largest and best organized bands in Venezuela.

The criminal enterprise increases

Since 2014, year The economic and humanitarian crisis devastated Venezuelacausing to migrate many Venezuelans.

Venezuela had one of the highest travel rates in the world Between 2014 and 2018, when At least 3 million people left the country.

Aragua train, still based in Tocorón prison at that time, took advantage of this mass migration. It has expanded the group’s business portfolio to include human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of Venezuelian migrants in Chile, Colombia and Peru.

It is not clear how much beyond the Venezuela Aragua train has spread. While the group has definitely expanded operations in Latin -American countries mentioned above, investigations show that common criminals represented Aragua train members Colombia and Chile.

Moreover, the arrest of the alleged members of Aragua train for committing crimes in the US and other countries does not mean that the gang has set up a store in those places. Band members, like non-gang members, migrate during seizures. They can continue to commit crimes in new places after arrival. However, it is important to note that immigration to the US is constantly tied to decreases – does not grow – both in violent crime and property crime.

Even some local police departments have questioned the extension of the band in the USA

In Aurora, the police rejected both mayor and President Donald Trump About the apartment complex taken by the gang. And the New York Police Department recently reported that the suspects of Aragua train members are largely focused on Turning mobile phones and plundering large shops – almost the crimes of a transnational criminal empire or a terrorist organization.

Worsening problems

Deportations do not approach the urgent situation that many migrants face who leave their homelands in search of a better and safer future.

When the governments prioritize the deportation show to cope with migration, they Contributes to extension of more resistant networks of criminal enterprises.

Recent history is revealed.

In El Salvador in the 1990s and early 2000s, Imprisonment, deportations and police policies contributed to the evolution of young people street bands such as Mara Salvatruha or MS-13in Transnational extortion rockets which spread to Central America.

These same policies could also contribute to the growth of Aragua train in Latin America.

The prison isolates large groups of excluded and marginalized people and constrains them in brutal conditions. This allows and encourages social networks This supplies illegal markets and criminal activity beyond the walls of prisons.

Increasing xenophobia

Another harmful result of the policies I discussed here is the fact that they can feed xenophobia and the criminalization of Venezulas immigrants living in the USA

This closes the opportunities and harms people already devastated by economic, political and humanitarian crises in Country of origin.

Venezuelans responded with their characteristic character humor incisive and biting.

Many have used social media to parody news points and political speeches, and Venezuelans post regularly Meme and videos that mock the automatic association made Between them and Aragua train.

The satirical news site El Chigüire Bipolar posted stories entitled “The United States confirms the fact that Venezuelans are members of Aragua train from birth“And”Ice agents hold the new -the newborn who could be the Aragua train leader in the future. “

In the meantime, Recent US external aid discounts In countries with great Venezuelan populations, such as Colombia and Peru, they will probably aggravate the crisis of migration by constraining the opportunities of Venezuelan.

The future waves of migrants will be easy for criminal organizations such as Aragua train, which has transformed human trafficking into a profitable business. And with the current policies of discounts, incarceration and repression, Aragua train will continue to grow and fill their coffers.

This article is republished from conversation under Creative Commons license. Read Original article.