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An operation by the Chilean Civil Police dismantled a cell of an international criminal organization called “Tren de Aragua” that operated in the Los Lagos region, about a thousand kilometers south of Santiago, dedicated to carrying out a wide range of crimes, the report said on Tuesday. . authorities.
Specifically, detectives from the Investigating Police Puerto Montt Robbery Brigade (PDI) managed to arrest 10 people and seized drugs and ammunition of various calibers, as well as four firearms, including an automatic submachine gun.
After investigations since May last year, the PDI determined that crimes such as intimidation robbery, violent robbery, attempted homicide, drug trafficking, violations of weapons laws and threats had occurred in the area, all of which were allegedly committed by the same organized crime structure.
According to the police, the victims were mainly human traffickers, businessmen and foreign sex workers, the latter of whom were threatened to pay fees to use the territory under the control of the so-called Cartier brothers, as the detained group calls itself.
According to local media reports, those arrested included three Chilean citizens and seven Venezuelans (five of whom had irregular immigration status and one of whom had a military record in his country of origin).
The Aragua Train is a transnational criminal organization originating from Venezuela and is considered the most powerful gang in the country, committed crimes such as murder, extortion, kidnapping, human trafficking and human smuggling.
Since 2018, the organization has expanded rapidly across the American continent along the routes of Venezuelan migrants and has operated in cities in Colombia, Peru, Chile and other countries.
Crime has been rising in Chile for years, with the homicide rate rising from 4.5 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to 6.7 in 2022, thanks in large part to the arrival of bands like Tren de Aragua.
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