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The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

What is Tren de Aragua? How the Venezuelan gang started − and why US policies may only make it stronger

  • Written by Verónica Zubillaga, Mellon Visiting Professor, University of Illinois Chicago
imageA viral surveillance video allegedly shows armed members of the Tren de Aragua gang at an apartment building in Aurora, Colo.RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

When the U.S. government deported 177 Venezuelans on Feb. 20, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security alleged that 80 of the deportees were members of the...

Read more: What is Tren de Aragua? How the Venezuelan gang started − and why US policies may only make it...

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