Federal authorities have indicted 26 alleged members of the Trinitarios gang in Massachusetts on racketeering charges tied to five murders, 19 attempted murders, drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and robbery, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced.
The charges stem from an investigation led by the Homeland Security Task Force, which accused the defendants of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act through a conspiracy to commit murder, according to a statement released by DHS.
Homeland Security Investigations special agents carried out eight federal search warrants and took 24 alleged gang members into custody, the agency said. Seven illegal aliens were also apprehended during the operation and have either been deported or placed in deportation proceedings.
HSI New England Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Grimming said the arrests have made Massachusetts communities safer.
“Massachusetts communities are safer today after the arrests of 24 alleged members of the Trinitarios. This deadly transnational street gang has inflicted senseless violence and terror upon our communities – from drug trafficking and gun violence to kidnapping and murder – but we are working tirelessly to hold them to account,” Grimming said. “We’re facing more dangerous, more violent, and more complex crime than ever before, but HSI and the Homeland Security Task Force are ready to meet the challenge.”
According to DHS, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged a total of 56 Trinitarios members in Massachusetts over the past two years. Those defendants are alleged to have committed or taken part in 11 murders and 30 attempted murders.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said the prosecutions have dismantled the gang’s leadership.
“It is safe to say that for far too long the Trinitarios have wreaked havoc and instilled fear in our communities. Murders, attempted murders, kidnapping, witness tampering and extortion. The list goes on and on, but that ends today. Their boldness and hubris are quite frankly astounding. It appears the defendants believed they were immune from prosecution. They were wrong,” Foley said.
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in my office, 56 Trinitarios have been taken off the streets and their entire leadership has been decimated.”
DHS said the Homeland Security Task Forces were established under President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order 14159, which directs DHS and the Department of Justice to coordinate efforts against transnational criminal gangs and cartels.
