What is Tren de Aragua? Officials say Portland shooting victims linked to transnational gang

TOCORON, Aragua — An international crime syndicate is back in the headlines after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot two people in Portland on Thursday.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials on Friday claimed the two people were members of the Tren de Aragua gang and did not have legal citizenship within the United States. Officials did not immediately share specific details or evidence showing why they believe the two individuals were tied to the gang.

Tren de Aragua has been on the radar of U.S. authorities for years. It was classified a “Transnational Criminal Organization” by the Biden administration in 2024 and has been mentioned repeatedly by the second Trump administration as a justification for its immigration crackdown. President Donald Trump also designated the group as a “foreign terrorist organization” while invoking an 18th-century wartime law to deport noncitizens to a notorious El Salvador prison.

Tren de Aragua began in a sprawling prison in northern Venezuela, according to previous reporting from the Associated Press. The prison functioned more like a resort with numerous amenities, parties, and concerts until last year, when the Venezuelan government regained control.

The gang was allegedly started in 2013 by Héctor Guerrero, who coordinated with other inmates and prison guards inside the prison to establish the syndicate. The gang would go on to amass a small fortune by charging weekly fees to inmates and from crimes committed around the prison.

A decade later, Tren de Aragua had about 4,000 members operating in 11 of Venezuela’s 23 states, the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence told the Associated Press. Gang members largely scattered to other countries like Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile after the government regained control of the prison. Since then, areas with large populations of Venezuelan migrants have accused the gang of being behind violent crimes.

Guerrero, who remains at large, was charged in a New York federal court with racketeering conspiracy and terrorism-related charges in December. The U.S. Department of State is offering up to $5 million for his arrest.