Who is behind Tren de Aragua?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 28 May 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tren de Aragua was a little-known gang in Venezuela – until recently. US President Donald Trump’s focus on the group has thrust it into the spotlight, as hundreds of Venezuelans have been deported from the United States.
In this episode:
- Mike LaSusa (@mikelasusa), deputy director of content, InSight Crime
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Amy Walters and Ashish Malhotra, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Remas Alhawari, Mariana Navarette, Kisaa Zehra, Kingwell Ma, and our guest host, Natasha Del Toro. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, a gang that started inside of Venezuelan prison is now at the center of U.S. immigration policy. |
| 0:18.8 | We're learning new details about the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, |
| 0:22.6 | which President Trump labeled an invading force when he invoked the Alien Enemies Act. |
| 0:27.6 | The U.S. says it's going after a violent criminal gang, |
| 0:31.6 | but is the threat real? |
| 0:33.6 | And why hasn't anyone heard of them until recently? |
| 0:36.6 | I'm Natasha D'Al Toro, and this is a And why hasn't anyone heard of them until recently? |
| 0:42.2 | I'm Natasha Del Toro, and this is the take. |
| 0:57.0 | Right now, almost half a million Venezuelans in the U.S. have entered a precarious situation. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end temporary protected |
| 1:02.2 | status for Venezuelans. And that's worrying for many who had that status. |
| 1:07.0 | I feel it personally, because I belong to those 300,000 who are currently in a sort of limbo, waiting to see what will happen. |
| 1:17.0 | In March, around 250 Venezuelans were flown against their will to the most notorious prison in El Salvador. |
| 1:25.3 | Sequot, El Salvador's maximum security prison, the biggest in the world. |
| 1:31.3 | It has room for 40,000 people, and it's almost full, 80 to 100 prisoners in each cell, |
| 1:38.3 | only let out for 30 minutes of exercise a day. |
| 1:42.3 | A prison with such harsh conditions that one Salvadorian official says the only way out is in a coffin. |
| 1:48.7 | These inmates were accused of being part of Tren der Agua, a gang that the Trump administration |
| 1:53.6 | has now labeled part of a so-called invasion. In fact, U.S. President Donald Trump invoked |
| 1:59.6 | a centuries-old law called the Alien |
| 2:01.6 | Enemies Act to justify their removal. So what is Tren d'Agua really? And is this crackdown |
| 2:08.3 | truly about a gang or something else? Mike Lesusa and his publication Inside Crime |
... |
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