Train of Aragua (TDA), the infamous street gang founded in Venezuela and mentioned by President Donald Trump by announcing its use of the Law of Foreign Enemies of 1798 to deport suspicious members, has established dangerous operating points in New York City.
President Trump directly pointed to ADD as one of his main reasons to exercise the law of more than 225 years of age and expand his executive deportation authority. The White House reported on Sunday that more than 300 TDA members were arrested and sent to El Salvador.
Approved by President John Adams, the Law of Foreign Enemies of 1798 allows the president to expel any person associated with an enemy power in times of war. Although a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s order, arguing that the US is not at war with Venezuela, deportation was carried out anyway.
“TDA is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on the planet. They violate, mutilate and kill for fun,” said a statement issued by the White House on Sunday morning. “This weekend, under the direction of the President, the Department of National Security successfully arrested almost 300 Treno Terrorists of Aragua, saving countless US lives. Thanks to the great work of the State Department, these monsters were extracted and transferred to El Salvador, where they will no longer represent a threat to the US people.”
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in X that the US transported about 250 members, who will allegedly be held in El Salvador in exchange for financial compensation. However, it is not clear if these deportations occurred before or after the judicial blockade.
Aragua’s train crimes in New York
Although some critics have accused the Trump administration of using ADD as an excuse to justify mass deportations, the facts show that the gang has been involved in multiple violent crimes in the city.
In recent years, TDA has established a presence in New York, committing a series of crimes. Last October, the police informed Amnewyork Metro that TDA expanded with several subgroups, such as “The Devils of the 42”, a group of young criminals that Times Square terrified with a series of robberies.
Detectives indicated that this group operated from city shelters, recruiting other vulnerable young people to avoid arrest.
The magnitude of TDA’s criminal activity became more evident in January 2025, when Stefano Pachon, alleged high -ranking member of the gang, was accused in an imputation of 31 charges for arms trafficking, despite having arrived in the country in 2023.
Later, that same month, the Queens district prosecutor, Melinda Katz, and the police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, announced the accusation of 10 alleged arms traffickers and members of ADD. During one of the arrests, a NYPD officer suffered the fracture of an arm after being trapped at a door.
Current Train Situation of Aragua in NYC
Despite the raids and deportation order, police sources claim that TDA remains a persistent problem in the city. However, local order forces claim to be committed to fighting the gang.
Since November, the Police have confiscated more than 80 weapons linked to members of TDA. They have also intensified their efforts to reduce crimes with scooters and motorcycles, which are usually used by the gang.
The NYPD informed Amnewyork Metro that, to date, crimes with scooters have decreased by 79%.
“Although not all these crimes were committed by members of ADD, we know they have been involved and have been responsible for this type of crimes in the past, which caused the previous increase,” said a police source.
Store robberies have also decreased 9% so far this year, a trend that has been linked to ADD activity.
Even so, the Trump administration has used fear around the gang as an argument to justify its deportation order.
Reaction to the Law of Foreign Enemies
The last time the foreign enemies law was invoked was during World War II, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt used it to send Japanese citizens to internment fields, an action that was later considered a stain in the history of the US and by which President Ronald Reagan apologized decades later.
Criticisms of Trump’s decision came quickly on Sunday, with accusations that the measure is not an attack against criminals, but against due legal process.
“With this executive order, the Trump administration is using fear and division to intensify its attacks against due process, which is a fundamental pillar of the US Constitution and an essential value in this country. The invocation of an obsolete law of war will make communities less safe. Threat to families by accelerating deportations of Venezuelan immigrants, including minors of only 14 years, many of which are entitled to be entitled USA, ”said Shayna Kessler, of the Vera Institute of Justice.
“Today’s actions would eliminate their constitutional right to defend themselves in court, they would advance the massive arrest and family separation agenda of this administration, devastate local communities and perpetuate the dangerous and false narrative that immigrants are enemies.”
Others argue that this is just an excuse for Trump to implement a mass deportation plan that will unfairly separate families or leave many detainees without the opportunity to legally defend themselves.
“This extremely dangerous law declares war on children, parents and workers who only try to support their communities and families. It is an attack on due process, denying people any opportunity to defend themselves in court,” said Nicole Melaku, executive director of National Partnership for New America.
“Just as the Foreign Enemies Law was used to imprison and separate Japanese-American families during World War II, the Trump administration is abusing this dangerous executive branch to make more people deportable and justify their mass deportation agenda. The enemy is not our immigrant neighbors, but those willing to promulgate policies driven by hate to justify the destruction of families.”
