The U.S. Department of Justice has charged eight Venezuelan nationals, all alleged members of the Tren De Aragua gang, with kidnapping resulting in death, racketeering, murder, and additional violent offenses.
The crimes are alleged to have occurred in Texas and Illinois, according to the Justice Department. Investigators from Homeland Security task forces led the work that produced the charges.
The prosecutions fall under Joint Task Force Vulcan. The Justice Department said the task force was established in 2019, originally with a mandate to eradicate MS-13. The Attorney General later directed an expansion of that mandate, and the task force now targets Tren De Aragua as well.
The racketeering counts encompass murder charges, the Justice Department noted, and the indictments also cover a range of other violent crimes beyond the kidnapping allegations. All eight defendants are Venezuelan nationals, and each is identified as an alleged gang member.
The eight individuals face some of the most serious charges available under federal law, including kidnappings that ended in the deaths of victims, per the Justice Department.