The Department of Justice has charged eight members of Tren de Aragua with kidnapping and murdering American citizens, including children, in Texas and Illinois. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, along with FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. attorneys from both states, announced the indictments during a press conference on Wednesday. Five of the eight members were charged in Dallas, while the other three face charges in Chicago.
This announcement updates the ongoing actions against Tren de Aragua, a designated terrorist group from Venezuela. Since President Donald Trump took office, nearly 350 members of Tren de Aragua have been charged or convicted of various crimes, according to Blanche, who noted that many more members remain active in the United States.
Blanche criticized the Biden administration for allowing the suspects to enter the country, stating that all eight entered between December 2021 and April 2024. He emphasized that these individuals should not have been in the U.S.
In one incident in 2024 near Dallas, four men allegedly murdered a father and kidnapped his 13-year-old daughter and 12-year-old nephew. Three suspects are in U.S. custody for other crimes, while the fourth is in Colombia. In another case in Chicago, a male victim was kidnapped and later found dead in an abandoned building.
U.S. Attorneys Ryan Raybould and Andrew Boutros provided details on both incidents. Blanche remarked on the tragic outcomes, stating that the victims should still be alive. Patel reported a 519% increase in arrests related to Tren de Aragua during Trump’s second term and mentioned that 29,000 violent gang members have been arrested nationwide.
Patel also referenced a separate case involving Venezuelan nationals sentenced for ATM hacking linked to Tren de Aragua. When asked about potential terrorism charges for the Dallas and Chicago cases, Blanche indicated that such charges could be added later as the cases develop.