WASHINGTON – Eight alleged members of the designated foreign terrorist organization Tren de Aragua (TdA) have been charged in the Northern Districts of Illinois and Texas with murders, kidnappings, and firearms offenses, the Department of Justice announced. All eight defendants are believed to be illegal aliens from Venezuela who entered the United States between December 2021 and April 2024.
In the Northern District of Illinois, three alleged TdA members – Josue Pacheco Torres, 26, Julian Pachano, 19, and Kleiver Monasterio Briceno, 20 – were charged on June 29, 2026, with conspiracy to kidnap and murder a man in Chicago. The victim was reportedly forced into a car on May 18, driven to an abandoned building, and later found deceased with multiple gunshot wounds and blunt force injuries. The complaint alleges this conspiracy was connected to the defendants' involvement in TdA, which law enforcement in Chicago has been investigating for acts of violence.
Separately, a grand jury in the Northern District of Texas indicted five alleged TdA members on June 30, 2026: Hector Asdrubal Garcia Zuniga, 36; Carlos Luis Zambrano Bolivar, 27; Jhonny Jesus Martinez Serrano, 31; Jhonatan Nahin Toro Gonzalez, 23; and Ehiker Alexander Morales Mendoza, 39. They face racketeering charges involving murder, kidnapping, and other violent offenses, including the alleged kidnapping of three individuals on August 24, 2024, and the murder of one of them.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche highlighted the severity of the charges, stating, “Eight TdA members illegally entered the United States between 2021 and 2024 and are alleged to have committed horrific crimes, including murdering a father in front of his teenage daughter.” FBI Director Kash Patel added that President Trump’s designation of Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization has provided law enforcement with “the tools we need to wipe out their operations.”
Tren de Aragua is described as a violent transnational criminal organization originating as a prison gang in Venezuela, which has expanded its network throughout the Western Hemisphere, including the United States. Its activities encompass drug and firearms trafficking, commercial sex trafficking, kidnapping, robbery, and murder.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros for the Northern District of Illinois affirmed, “Our shared goal is crystal clear: to disrupt and dismantle TdA and not allow it to gain a foothold in the United States or Chicagoland.” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas issued a warning: “Let this serve as a warning to all TdA members: you will not gain a stronghold in the Northern District of Texas.”
These cases are part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative and Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV), a whole-of-government partnership aimed at eliminating criminal cartels and transnational criminal organizations. If convicted, the defendants in both districts face up to life in prison, with some also facing the possibility of the death penalty.