Chile Touts Experience Fighting Tren de Aragua to Win Over Trump

(Bloomberg) -- The success of President Donald Trump’s clampdown on a notorious Venezuelan criminal gang depends, at least in part, on years of bitter experience in Chile.

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The South American nation has been feeding intelligence on Tren de Aragua to US authorities for more than a year as it battles a surge in homicides triggered by the gang, according to Undersecretary of the Interior Luis Cordero.

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“If today the US has better visibility on how Tren de Aragua operates, it is largely due to the information that Chile has shared with it,” Cordero said in an interview at the presidential palace in Santiago. “Chile has been dismantling this organization since 2022.”

Trump moved to designate the gangs Tren de Aragua and MS-13, as well as Mexican cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations in one of his first acts in office. The Venezuelan gang has wreaked havoc in Chile, trafficking immigrants into the country, running protection rackets, managing prostitution rings and dealing drugs. But Chile is fighting back and currently has 307 members of the gang in prison, according to Cordero.

“Trump’s decision to classify this organization as terrorist or not is significant in domestic law, but it doesn’t alter Chile’s strategies,” he said.

Cordero met with Drug Enforcement Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel last month in a visit to Washington. A US official with knowledge of the matter said that Chile has been very helpful in recent months in the fight against Tren de Aragua.

The FBI declined to comment, while the DEA didn’t immediately respond to a request for information.

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Intelligence Feed

The intelligence supplied by Chile includes some of the group’s members, routes and its modus operandi, Cordero said.

Unlike Mexican cartels, the gang operates more as a holding company, providing franchises to regional branches to operate in different criminal areas. The dispersed nature of its hierarchy and structure can make it particularly difficult to track.

“The US has a lot of experience with cartels and gangs, but this type of intermediary organization that operates with a franchise system is a type that doesn’t fit the traditional profile,” Cordero said.

After starting in a prison in Venezuela over a decade ago, Tren de Aragua has spread across Latin America and entered the US on the back of illegal migration. A few weeks ago the US arrested one of the group’s leaders known as “El Turco.” Chile has requested his extradition.

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The gang’s largest operation outside of Venezuela is in Chile, according to Ronna Risquez, a Venezuelan journalist and author of the book El Tren de Aragua.

“The US has to look more to nations that know Tren de Aragua better, such as Chile and Colombia, if it wants to be successful in cracking down on the organization,” she said. The information Chile has accumulated is “key to the regional fights against the gang.”

It remains to be seen whether the level of cooperation will continue as the Trump administration implements its own leadership and enforcement plans.

Dissident Murder

As Chile has clamped down on Tren de Aragua, its relations with Venezuela have soured.

Authorities are currently investigating the murder of former Venezuelan soldier, Ronald Ojeda, who sought refugee in Santiago after being accused of plotting to murder President Nicolas Maduro. A Chilean prosecutor said last week that a witness has alleged Diosdado Cabello, Maduro’s security chief, gave the order to kill Ojeda.

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If the accusation is verified “it would be an extremely serious situation,” Cordero said.

Faced with the threat posed by the Tren de Aragua, Chile’s government has more than tripled its budget to tackle organized crime since 2022 to $89 million. It recently apprehended several members of “The Pirates,” a faction of the gang that was allegedly involved in the killing of Ojeda.

Cordero’s comments come after President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on Colombia over the weekend before abruptly pulling the threat after reaching a deal on the return of deported migrants. The conflict was proof of Trump’s retaliatory and blunt style, and has regional governments on alert.

Cordero said all countries have an obligation to receive their citizens when being deported from another nation. He also said Chile hasn’t yet received notification from the US on the deportation of any of its citizens.

The comments represent an extension of the conciliatory tone Chile’s left-wing government has taken with Trump. They also imply that when Trump says the US doesn’t need Latin America, there are some nuances.

--With assistance from Eric Martin.

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