Alleged Tren de Aragua gang member arrested in Houston

HOUSTON - Two alleged members of the notorious gang Tren de Aragua have been arrested on drug distribution charges out of Texas. 

One of the suspects was living in Houston, according to officials.

Alleged Tren de Aragua members arrested

What we know:

The U.S. Attorney's Office says two Venezuelan nationals were arrested for their alleged conspiracy to bring in more than five kilograms of cocaine to the United States from Venezuela and Columbia.

Jesus Miguel Barreto Lezama, a 29-year-old who was living in Houston, recently made a federal court appearance in Houston. Lezama is also charged with importing nearly five kilograms of cocaine to the U.S. from Colombia in 2024.

 Briley Jesus Balleta Farias, 32, was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Sunday.

The FBI and DEA investigated the case with the help of Columbian National Police.

A federal grand jury indictment returned Jan. 29.

If convicted, the men face up to life in federal prison and a possible $10 million fine.

Tren de Aragua was recently declared a foreign terrorist organization.

What we don't know:

Details about the alleged conspiracy and how the suspects were located have not been released.

What is Tren de Aragua?

The backstory:

 Tren de Aragua, known as TdA, originated in an infamously lawless prison in the central state of Aragua and accompanied an exodus of millions of Venezuelans, the overwhelming majority of whom were seeking better living conditions after their nation’s economy came undone last decade. 

Tren de Aragua is Spanish for "the train of Aragua." The group may have gotten its name from a union of railroad workers, NPR reported.

By 2017, Tren de Aragua began to be known as a "megabanda," a category the local press in Venezuela use to refer to large organized criminal groups.

More than 250 suspected gang members arrive in El Salvador by plane. (Credit: El Salvador Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Tren de Aragua’s growth surged as a result of mass incarceration policies that began under Venezuela’s former President Hugo Chávez and expanded under current President Nicolás Maduro. 

The men began to organize into prison gangs with clear hierarchies. They accumulated vast profits by charging prisoners fees for food, use of space and protection from inmate violence. They also opened and ran businesses, including a club, inside Tocorón prison.

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Members of different gangs in and outside the prison also began to communicate and share information about criminal activities such as kidnapping and extortion. This strengthened social networks and expanded their illegal enterprises.

Tren de Aragua eventually took control of Tocorón prison as the government became unable to manage daily life inside its walls. It had become one of the largest and best organized gangs in Venezuela.

Trump seized on the gang during his campaign to paint misleading pictures of communities that he contended were "taken over" by what were actually a handful of lawbreakers.