NEW YORK, NY – Federal prosecutors have unsealed a sweeping 38-count indictment charging 27 members and associates of the “Anti-Tren” faction of the Venezuelan terrorist organization Tren de Aragua with a violent pattern of racketeering, murder, kidnapping, and sex trafficking across multiple states, including New York and New Jersey.
The charges, announced Friday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, stem from a years-long investigation into the splinter group’s operations in the Bronx, Queens, and beyond. The indictment accuses gang members of carrying out an April 15, 2024, double murder in the Bronx, a series of attempted killings in 2025, and an extensive network of human smuggling and sexual exploitation of Venezuelan women.
Of the 27 defendants named, 21 were previously charged under an earlier indictment, while six are newly added — five of whom are now in federal custody. In total, approximately 38 members or associates of Anti-Tren and its parent group have been charged to date.
Double murder, trafficking, and terror ties
Prosecutors allege that Anti-Tren operated as a violent offshoot of Tren de Aragua — a Venezuelan prison gang that evolved into a transnational criminal and terrorist organization. According to the indictment, the group sought to control territory and enrich its members through murder, robbery, drug trafficking, and sex trafficking.
Among the most severe allegations are the April 2024 killings of Jhombeyker Jose Bisbal Pina and Adrian Mendoza Isturiz, who were allegedly shot to death in the Bronx by gang members Yender Mata, Ervin Hernandez (known as “Coco”), and Kerlyn Nataliy Perez-Lopez (“Mou”).
Federal investigators also tied Anti-Tren members to multiple murder-for-hire and kidnapping plots across New York and Florida in 2025, as well as a violent Yonkers home invasion and Bronx robbery.
Sex trafficking of Venezuelan women
Authorities say Anti-Tren financed its operations by smuggling young women from Venezuela and forcing them into sex work to pay fabricated debts. Victims, referred to as “multadas,” were subjected to threats, assault, kidnapping, and even murder if they attempted to flee.
In one case, defendant Luis Jose Velasquez-Hurtado (“Chito”) allegedly threatened a trafficking victim with a firearm, seized her immigration papers, and ordered her abduction. In another, defendants Jesus David Barrios Garcia (“Morocho”) and Enrique Gustavo Boada Yanez (“Chino”) were accused of orchestrating similar abuse against a second victim.
Key points:
• 27 alleged Anti-Tren members charged in federal racketeering and murder indictment
• Case tied to April 2024 Bronx double murder and multiple sex trafficking operations
• Anti-Tren described as a splinter faction of Venezuelan terrorist organization Tren de Aragua
Federal crackdown on transnational crime
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said the charges “reflect our commitment to bankrupt TDA and bring its members to justice,” calling the group’s operations a “business of murder and exploitation.” Homeland Security Investigations and the Joint Task Force Vulcan — a federal coalition targeting Tren de Aragua — assisted in the probe.
