Ronna Risquez is a Venezuelan investigative journalist who has worked for Insight Crime, RunRun.es, El Nacional, and other media outlets. Citizen security and the criminal underworld are her areas of expertise, to the point that she is the author of El Tren de Aragua, the only book published to date on this criminal group that, after emerging from a Venezuelan prison, managed to spread its networks to various countries in the Americas.

Invited as an observer to the Global Media Forum (GMF) organized by Deutsche Welle in Bonn, Risquez analyzes the reasons that led the Tren de Aragua to become the criminal demon most feared by the continent's authorities.

Deutsche Welle: Although it is the most resonant, the Tren de Aragua is not the only criminal group operating in the region. There has, in fact, been an explosive increase in various crimes. What do you think is the reason for this phenomenon?

Ronna Risquez: Historically, criminal groups have existed, and that is why when people talk about the power of the Tren de Aragua, I don't believe it is quite so. That is to say, if you compare it to what Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel became, or what the Sinaloa Cartel or the Jalisco New Generation Cartel are today, I think the Tren de Aragua isn't that powerful. It just emerged at a time when a series of factors came together.

What factors came together?

Today, anyone with access to social media can publish whatever they want, and that makes even the smallest thing seem bigger. I don't want to downplay the phenomenon, but you have to understand the context in which it occurs. It's true that there are certain particularities, which have a lot to do with the political, social, and economic situation in Venezuela.

The group expanded and managed to establish small branches in different countries, something we hadn't seen before. For example, Colombian groups focus on Colombia or move to other countries just to do business, but they do not settle there.

If you look at the map, you can see how the Aragua Train advanced from Venezuela to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, etc. Is there any reason why this organization is seeking to expand into these countries in the region?

Of course, the group is expanding for two fundamental reasons. One has to do with the border area between Venezuela and Brazil, where there are some very important gold mines. A Tren de Aragua cell was established there before 2017.

The other reason is that the south was the initial destination of mass Venezuelan migration. This was unusual because historically, migration went north. As people moved, so did the groups, and they did so in search of new opportunities.

How much does Venezuela's political instability influence the growth of the Aragua Train?

I'm not saying that in another context a criminal group that made prison its center of operations couldn't have emerged, but I think that much of the progress the Aragua Train has made has to do with the lack of a state, with government inaction in matters of citizen security and, above all, prisons.

How does the Aragua Train really operate? Does it have a boss who commands everyone, or are there independent tentacles?

There are several people who exercise leadership. Then there are some cases where those who were in the countries where the group moved reported directly to the organization. Within Venezuela, the Aragua Train absorbed small local gangs without these gangs losing their identity. And then, what authorities have identified more recently is that if a group wants to use the Tren de Aragua name, they pay a kind of franchise or affiliation fee.

As if they were a McDonald's.

Exactly. But that's something newer. The organization initially was just an expansion of a group from the Tocoron prison (Venezuela).

In your book, you talk about 20 sources of income for the group: restaurants, gambling, etc. But the strong point remains drug and human trafficking, right?

Cocaine is always talked about as a very important business. However, in the case of Tren de Aragua, they are involved in marijuana trafficking; they already entered Chile with ketamine to make pink cocaine. They may be involved in the cocaine business, but I don't think they're actually holding and moving shipments.

So how are they involved?

They provide security for trafficking. But obviously, they are involved in migrant smuggling, trafficking of migrant women, extortion... I would say that extortion generates significant income. And then there's a broader spectrum: illegal mining, gambling, cryptocurrencies, kidnappings... they may be small businesses, but each one generates an income that adds up.

The Chilean Prosecutor's Office says it usually investigates extortion cases, but against Venezuelans, not Chileans.

The same thing was identified in Peru and Colombia.

And that has to do with the fact that a Venezuelan who is illegally in another country is unlikely to file a complaint, right?

There are two reasons. Obviously, if the person doesn't have legal status, they may be afraid to file a complaint, but they also don't file a complaint because in Venezuela you already knew that any action you could take against the group could be worse. If they do file a complaint, they threaten them by telling them they know where their family is, and that discourages people.

Why do these groups thrive? What is it about the region that prevents the Aragua Train from being a failed enterprise?

Let's go back to what has always been said: exclusion, lack of opportunities for young people, poverty. These are very old problems, but they continue to exist in our region and cause many young people to choose to engage in illicit activities because they feel they don't have opportunities, they consider that studying or working are not options, and they seek these paths. That is a possibility.

Why doesn't this happen in other regions?

Every country has violence associated with its cultural characteristics. For example, in Spain: if we look at its neighborhoods, they are full of small gangs of young people who walk around with knives, who act in packs. That is a form of violence. And to the extent that this violence is naturalized, you ignore it. We also know about the gun massacres in the United States, which have to do with exclusion, mental health, and bullying. All cultures have the capacity to generate violence in one way or another.