Colombia’s police said they have arrested a founder and a regional chief of organized crime group Tren de Aragua over the past week.
Last week, police arrested Salomon Fernandez, the alleged boss of Tren de Aragua in the capital Bogota and the neighboring town of Soacha, in a town in the eastern Casanare province.
On Monday, the National Police announced the arrest of Larry Changa, one of the three alleged founders of the Venezuelan group.
Changa was arrested in Circasia, a town in the coffee region.
The arrest of Fernandez could have a significant impact on organized crime in Bogota, where Tren de Aragua has been vying for control over neighborhoods in the south with paramilitary organization AGC.
The Ombudsman’s Office rang the alarm about Bogota in February after finding that particularly brutal violence in the south of the capital could be part of a turf war between the AGC and Tren de Aragua.
Colombia’s ombudsman warns for possible turf wars in Bogota
Changa is wanted by Chile, where he has been accused of coordinating Tren de Aragua’s organized crime activities.
The alleged founder of the transnational organized crime group was allegedly constructing a home in Colombia’s coffee region.
Tren de Agua has been expanding its activities in Bogota, Medellin and Cucuta, a city on the border with Venezuela, since 2019.
The Venezuelans’ expansion has caused violence with local organized crime groups in all of these cities.
Medellin’s main organized crime group, La Oficina, assassinated seven alleged members of Tren de Aragua in March after ordering the Venezuelan group to leave Colombia’s second largest city.
Tren de Aragua’s operations in Colombia mainly affect Venezuelan migrant community, which is targeted for recruitment by the organized crime group from their native country.
