Police raid Venezuela’s ‘Tren de Aragua’ crime network in Spain, arrest 13
Spanish police have dismantled what they say is the first cell of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua crime gang operating in Spain, arresting 13 suspects during coordinated raids in five cities — Barcelona, Madrid, Girona, A Coruña and Valencia.
Authorities said the suspects were part of an effort to expand the group’s operations in Spain, which has one of Europe’s largest Venezuelan communities, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Police seized synthetic drugs, cocaine, a marijuana plantation, and two laboratories producing tusi — also known as “pink cocaine” — a drug commonly trafficked by the gang.
Tren de Aragua, which originated in Venezuelan prisons, has grown into one of Latin America’s most violent transnational crime syndicates, linked to drug trafficking, human smuggling, and extortion.
Earlier this year, the United States designated Tren de Aragua as a global terrorist organization, citing its spread beyond South America.
The raids follow the 2024 arrest in Barcelona of the alleged gang leader’s brother, accused of trying to establish the group’s foothold in Spain.
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