Tren de Aragua Members Charged With Gun Trafficking in NYC

FAIR Take | January 2025
On January 15, three alleged members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) appeared in front of the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan as the result of a firearms bust. The defendants were charged in a 31-count indictment, through which law enforcement accused them of gun trafficking, conspiracy, the criminal sale of firearms, and the criminal possession of weapons. The case was the result of a police investigation into another criminal scheme run by TdA in the Big Apple. Clearly, while the mainstream media celebrates the slowdown in encounters at the border, it is clear the problems generated by nearly four years of open borders are still with us.
The three Venezuelan nationals were 21-year-old Stefano Pachon, 34-year-old Darwin Figuera, and 31-year-old Yorman Serrano. Pachon and Serrano arrived in the U.S. in December 2023; Figuera arrived in October 2024. All three are illegal aliens who are prohibited by federal law from possessing or purchasing firearms. However, according to police, the three sold 11 guns on 10 separate occasions, using the phone app WhatsApp to negotiate the prices for the illicit weapons. The gang then met with buyers at several locations in the Bronx and East Harlem to sell the guns.
Even though the Venezuelan defendants were recent arrivals, officials disclosed that at least two of the three had extensive criminal records. Pachon had been arrested four times and was out on a bench warrant while illegally selling firearms. Serrano had a previous conviction in Queens and was arrested in Connecticut for possessing a shoplifting device. Remarkably, the arrests of Pachon, Serrano, and Figuera grew partly out of a wider investigation into TdA cellphone robbery scheme in which gang members, recruited via WhatsApp, would snatch cellphones from New Yorkers while escaping on mopeds. In one case, demonstrating the utter ruthlessness of TdA, a woman in her 60s was dragged down the sidewalk and slammed into a pole, sustaining serious injuries.
The current trio on trial highlights the wave of crime unleashed on New Yorkers by migrant gangs taking advantage of the city’s sanctuary status. TdA has reportedly used taxpayer-funded shelters as bases for a wide range of criminal activities. These include forced prostitution, shoplifting, and drug dealing, flooding the city with deadly pink cocaine. TdA members were also involved in a gang beating of NYPD officers at Times Square in January 2024 as horrified tourists looked on.
Despite the fact that many NYC officials stubbornly defended the city’s sanctuary status over the past four years, the current TdA trial suggests that some officials are beginning to have second thoughts. During the trial, Pachon’s attorney claimed his client was entitled to softer treatment due to being an asylum seeker. However, Judge Althea Drysdale – an appointee of former Mayor Bill de Blasio – rejected this argument by responding that “Just because all [the accused] hail from Venezuela doesn’t mean you get to be an asylum seeker.” It was not just the trial judge who appeared to have a stricter attitude toward migrant crime.
In addition, Mayor Eric Adams, who famously warned in 2023 that illegal immigration could “destroy” the city, seems to have had enough of the fiscal burden and migrant crime generated by the border crisis. Adams, a former NYPD officer, has signaled a willingness for at least some cooperation with the incoming Trump administration on removing illegal alien criminals.
Members of TdA – who have now spread across 17 states – are known to have engaged in everything from gun-running and cellphone robberies to cop beatings, apartment complex takeovers, and murder. They certainly deserve to be the first in line for removal, and New York City officials must change their policies to help immigration agents do their jobs, not obstruct them.
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