Mexican Authorities Arrest Six Alleged Tren de Aragua Members in Mexico City Linked to Extortion and Drug Trafficking

In recent months, Mexican authorities have begun uncovering the extent of the Venezuelan-born gang Tren de Aragua's presence in Mexico.

In December of last year, a report by Milenio found that the group's footprint had expanded to at least nine states, with its presence also reported in at least three boroughs of the capital.

As Tren de Aragua continues to grow in Mexico, authorities have stepped up efforts to dismantle the gang's criminal cells. This week, six alleged members of the organization were arrested in Mexico City, according to Security Minister Omar García Harfuch.

In a statement posted on X, García Harfuch said the detainees are allegedly linked to crimes including extortion, human trafficking and drug trafficking.

He said that following surveillance and intelligence work in the Venustiano Carranza borough, officers arrested Lesli Valeri "N" along with four other individuals. The woman was identified as the alleged person responsible for collecting payments tied to sexual exploitation, distributing narcotics and controlling victims, while also serving as a liaison with another local criminal group.

At the scene, authorities also seized several doses of methamphetamine, marijuana, a handgun and cash.

In a separate operation carried out in the Iztapalapa borough, authorities arrested Bryan "N," who was identified as a suspected financial operator for Tren de Aragua and as the person responsible for securing and providing properties used to house members of the group.

Those arrests add to other high-profile cases involving Tren de Aragua in Mexico. As reported by Animal Político, in October 2025 armed forces arrested Nelson Arturo Echezuria Alcántara, also known as "Nelson," who was identified as the group's alleged leader and main operator in the country.

According to Milenio's investigation into the criminal organization, Mexican authorities have already detected signs of Tren de Aragua activity in the states of Hidalgo, Tamaulipas, Baja California, Chiapas, the State of Mexico, Puebla, Chihuahua and Quintana Roo. Intelligence reports also indicate the group is building small networks in tourist and urban areas to avoid detection, with criminal activities that include street-level drug sales, human trafficking for sexual exploitation and acts of torture.

Unlike traditional Mexican cartels, Tren de Aragua operates through small, highly mobile cells that can blend into migrant flows and quickly shift their criminal focus, a structure that has made the group harder to track or dismantle, according to experts.

According to InSight Crime, Tren de Aragua began its international expansion around 2018, when it sought to establish a foothold along the border between Venezuela and Colombia, specifically between the Venezuelan state of Táchira and Colombia's Norte de Santander region.

Since then, the group has established permanent cells in Colombia, Peru and Chile, and its activities have also been reported in Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and the United States.