Leader of Tren de Aragua Gang Arrested: Mexican Officials

Nelson Arturo ‘N’ was arrested, along with two collaborators, the security ministry said.

Mexico's Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar Garcia Harfuch, speaks during a press conference at the Security Cabinet building in Mexico City on July 23, 2025. Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images

The alleged local leader of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has been arrested in Mexico City, Mexican authorities said on Oct. 4.

Mexico’s Ministry of Security said in a statement that a joint operation across many of its ministries and offices had led to the arrest of Nelson Arturo “N,” whom they called the “leader of a transnational criminal organisation.”

Secretary of State for Security Omar Garcia Harfuch identified the gang as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua in a post on X.

Arturo, 29, was identified as the “principal operator” of the Venezuelan gang in Mexico and has allegedly been linked to human trafficking, drug trafficking, homicide, kidnapping, and extortion.

Harfuch said the gang had operations in Puebla, Morelos, the state of Mexico, and various boroughs of Mexico City.

The ministry said that Mexico’s intelligence agencies had been monitoring Arturo as he operated in various states and municipalities of Mexico for some time.

During the arrest, they found Arturo with two alleged collaborators of the gang, Lucas Alberto “V,” aged 37, and Marcos Gabriel “O,” aged 36. They were allegedly in possession of 92 doses of marijuana, 44 doses of crystal methamphetamine, 18 doses of crack cocaine, two cellphones, and cash.

All three are of Venezuelan nationality, local media reported. Reports also noted that in June, two other members of Tren de Aragua were arrested in Puebla. Both were Colombian nationals linked to alleged violent loan collections, extortion, and drug dealing. The Puebla Public Security Secretariat said at the time that gangs of Colombians and Venezuelans had been identified operating in surrounding municipalities.

The operation was carried out by various federal law enforcement agencies and the Attorney General’s Office in Mexico City.

Authorities said that Arturo was in hiding, facing an arrest warrant for public health crimes and criminal association. The two direct associates also had outstanding arrest warrants related to alleged human trafficking and organized crime.

A Terrorist Organization

The U.S. State Department designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization in February. The gang, also known as the “Train of Aragua,” has a presence in several Latin American countries, including Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Mexico, and the United States.

Other cartels and gangs were also designated as foreign terrorist organizations, including the Mara Salvatrucha gang, which has a presence in the United States and Central America, and the six major Mexican cartels as global terrorists organizations: the Sinaloa Cartel, the New Generation, the Northeast Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, the United Cartels, and the New Michoacan Family.

On March 15, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to allow for the expedited arrest and deportation of suspected members of Tren de Aragua.

Numerous U.S. government agencies met with their Mexican government counterparts on Sept. 26 for an inaugural meeting of the U.S.–Mexico Security Implementation Group after a joint security and immigration agreement was formalized earlier in the month.