Peru Breaks Up Tren de Aragua Extortion Cell

PERU · SECURITY

Police in Peru have broken up an alleged Tren de Aragua extortion cell in Lima and detained six Venezuelans. Tren de Aragua, a gang born in a Venezuelan prison, has been on the US list of terrorist organizations since February 2025.

Peru’s Interior Ministry announced the raid on Tuesday, 13 October, in Puente Piedra, a district on Lima’s northern edge. Officers seized a mini Uzi, a rifle, a grenade and a notebook that allegedly lists weekly payments demanded from bus companies.

What Police Found in Puente Piedra

The raid targeted a house in the Villa Los Olivos housing association that police say served as the gang’s base of operations. RPP, a leading Peruvian radio network, quoted General José Antonio Zavala, head of the police’s criminal investigation directorate, saying so.

The six detained Venezuelans are aged 23 to 32, the Interior Ministry said. Police name Iam Gael León Díaz, 28, as the alleged leader of the group.

The group calls itself “Los Remanentes del Tren de Aragua”, Spanish for “the Tren de Aragua Remnants”. The unit that made the arrests specialises in extortion and organised crime cases.

Officers seized a mini Uzi submachine gun, a rifle, a hand grenade, three magazines and 85 unfired rounds of 9 mm ammunition. A police bomb squad destroyed the grenade in a controlled blast outside the house, RPP reported.

Police also took six mobile phones, a white Chevrolet car, four motorcycles and four licence plates. They found construction-worker uniforms and clothing bearing the logos of several companies.

What the Six Venezuelans Are Accused Of

The six are under investigation for extortion, membership of a criminal gang and crimes against public safety. The ministry says investigators must still identify possible victims and the full scope of the alleged extortion.

The seized notebook allegedly records Tren de Aragua extortion payments from public transport companies on the Puente Piedra route. It names four bus firms, including El Chino and Virgen de la Puerta.

The notes show an alleged weekly fee of 80 soles (about US$23 at 3.44 soles to the dollar on 14 October 2026) per vehicle. General Zavala said the suspects acknowledged in preliminary statements that they extorted public transport and construction workers, according to RPP.

“According to their own words, they say they have to go and put pressure,” Zavala said. He also said all six appear to have entered Peru irregularly, RPP reported.

Correo, a national daily, reports that the uniforms are under examination because detectives want to know whether the gang extorted other businesses. The phones will be examined for threats, demands for money and messages between gang members.

Why Tren de Aragua Matters to the United States

Tren de Aragua began as a prison gang in Venezuela, with its base in Tocorón prison, and now also operates in Colombia, Peru and Chile. The US State Department lists it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, with a listing date of 20 February 2025.

That label makes it a crime for anyone in the United States to knowingly give the gang material support, including money. US banks that find funds in which the gang has an interest must also freeze them and report them to the Treasury.

On Friday, 12 June 2026, President Donald Trump announced that a US military strike had killed the gang’s leader, Héctor Guerrero Flores. Washington and Caracas called it a joint operation against “Niño Guerrero”, as he was known, and Venezuela confirmed his death that night.

El Comercio, a leading Lima daily, reported in May that the US Justice Department had charged more than 260 members and associates since January 2025. The department said many suspects in one of those operations were undocumented migrants from Venezuela, Colombia and Honduras.

Lima’s Extortion Wave Hits Transport Workers

The Puente Piedra raid fell under the Unified Command for the Fight Against Crime, which Peru’s conservative president, Keiko Fujimori, launched on 7 October. It brings Peru’s armed forces and the National Police under one command to confront criminal organisations.

On Sunday, 11 October, motorcycle-taxi drivers blocked the Pan-American Highway North in Puente Piedra after one of their colleagues was attacked. They told RPP that four gangs had extorted them since May, and one driver said threats demanded 50,000 soles (about US$14,500).

On Monday, 12 October, prosecutors and police broke up another Lima gang that allegedly charged informal shared taxis 120 soles (about US$35) a week. The raids took place in the Rímac and San Juan de Lurigancho districts, according to the Public Ministry, Peru’s prosecution service.

On Saturday, 10 October, the Interior Ministry announced seven arrests in an alleged Tren de Aragua extortion case against traders in Piura, northern Peru. In one case, the suspects allegedly demanded 100 soles (about US$29) a week from a trader.

The government is also setting up a committee with banks and the telecom regulator to fight extortion. Prime Minister Luis Galarreta announced it on Monday, 12 October, to give investigators faster access to information in extortion and illegal mining cases.

What It Means for You

The US State Department rates Peru at Level 2, “Exercise increased caution”, in its current travel advisory. It warns that crime is common in Peru and that muggings and other violent crime often happen even in daylight.

Puente Piedra lies on Lima’s northern edge, far from Miraflores and Barranco, the seaside districts popular with visitors. The gangs in these cases target bus operators, motorcycle-taxi drivers, traders and builders, according to officials and the drivers themselves.

For US readers, the case shows groups using the Tren de Aragua name still active in Lima after the June strike on its leader. Companies with partners in Peru’s transport or construction trades should note that Tren de Aragua extortion in this case allegedly targeted exactly those sectors.

What Is Not Known

The Interior Ministry has not said on which day the raid took place or how many bus operators paid the cell. Police have also not said how much money the group allegedly collected in total.

It is not yet known whether prosecutors will ask a judge to hold the six in pretrial detention. Investigators have not shown whether this Tren de Aragua extortion cell takes orders from the gang’s wider leadership or only uses its name.

No court has ruled on the case, and all six suspects are presumed innocent. The ministry says the investigation will continue with the competent authorities to establish each suspect’s role.

More: Peru news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Tren de Aragua?

Tren de Aragua is a criminal gang that began in a Venezuelan prison and now operates in several Latin American countries. The United States listed it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on 20 February 2025.

Who was arrested in Puente Piedra?

Police detained six Venezuelans aged 23 to 32, including a 28-year-old they describe as the cell’s alleged leader. All six are presumed innocent until a court rules otherwise.

How much did the gang allegedly demand?

A notebook seized in the raid allegedly lists Tren de Aragua extortion fees of 80 soles (about US$23) a vehicle each week. Police have not said how many vehicles paid or how much money was collected.

Is Lima safe for American visitors?

The US State Department asks visitors to exercise increased caution in Peru, its Level 2 rating, because crime is common. The extortion cases in this story targeted local transport workers, traders and builders.

Sources: Ministerio del Interior (Peru), 13 October 2026; RPP, 13 October 2026; Diario Correo, 13 October 2026; US State Department, Foreign Terrorist Organizations, accessed 14 October 2026; US State Department, Peru Travel Advisory, accessed 14 October 2026; Presidencia del Consejo de Ministros (Peru), 12 October 2026; Ministerio del Interior (Peru), 7 October 2026; Ministerio del Interior (Peru), 10 October 2026; El Comercio, 12 June 2026; El Comercio, 13 June 2026; El Comercio, 11 May 2026; RPP, 11 October 2026; RPP, 12 October 2026.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error

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