LIMA – The Federal Bureau of Investigation has participated in an operation on Peruvian territory against suspected members of Tren de Aragua, marking another step in expanding international cooperation against the Venezuelan-born criminal organization.
According to information surrounding the operation, the suspects had been under investigation from the United States. The intervention was made possible through security cooperation between Peru and the United States, with U.S. agents working alongside Peruvian authorities.
The cooperation is expected to extend beyond the operation. FBI personnel are set to work jointly with Peru’s specialized GRECCO unit in efforts targeting transnational organized crime.
The development is significant because Tren de Aragua has evolved from a Venezuelan criminal organization into a security concern across much of the Western Hemisphere.
From Venezuela to a transnational organization
Tren de Aragua originated in Venezuela and subsequently expanded into other Latin American countries as millions of Venezuelans migrated throughout the region.
U.S. authorities now describe the organization as operating across Latin America and the United States. The FBI says alleged members have been linked to drug trafficking, human trafficking, weapons trafficking and violent crime.
The gang's expansion has also changed the way Washington treats the organization. The United States designated Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February 2025, significantly increasing the federal resources and legal tools available to target its members and networks
The U.S. Justice Department said in May that more than 25 defendants had been charged in a nationwide crackdown against alleged Tren de Aragua members and associates. The organization has been linked by U.S. authorities to murder, kidnapping, extortion, robbery, money laundering and drug trafficking.
The crackdown continued this summer. In July, U.S. prosecutors announced charges against eight alleged Tren de Aragua members from Venezuela in cases involving murders, kidnappings and firearms offenses in Texas and Illinois.
FBI taking operations beyond U.S. borders
The cooperation with Peru also fits into a broader FBI strategy of pursuing Tren de Aragua networks internationally rather than treating the organization solely as a domestic U.S. problem.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in July that the bureau is prepared to pursue senior Tren de Aragua figures overseas and bring them to the United States to face prosecution.
The FBI has increasingly emphasized international partnerships in its campaign against transnational criminal organizations. In congressional testimony, the bureau said its partnerships against these groups extend beyond U.S. borders.
Peru's involvement is particularly relevant because Tren de Aragua's expansion has demonstrated how criminal organizations can establish operations far beyond the country where they originated.
Rather than remaining primarily a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua has developed networks capable of operating across national borders, forcing governments to increase intelligence sharing and coordinate investigations.
Peru therefore appears to be assuming a more prominent role in Washington's regional strategy against the organization.
The presence of FBI personnel working with GRECCO also indicates a shift toward more direct operational cooperation. Instead of authorities in individual countries investigating separate branches of the same organization, investigators can increasingly share intelligence and pursue suspects whose activities cross multiple jurisdictions.
For Venezuela, the development is another indication of the international consequences of Tren de Aragua's expansion. What began as a criminal organization inside the country has become the target of coordinated law-enforcement operations across the hemisphere, including direct involvement by U.S. federal authorities outside the United States.