Spanish police have arrested 13 people accused of belonging to the first cell of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang detected in the country, following coordinated raids across Barcelona, Madrid, Girona, A Coruña and Valencia.
Originally formed in Venezuelan prisons, Tren de Aragua has become one of Latin America's most violent transnational criminal networks, linked to drug trafficking, human smuggling and extortion. The United States recently designated it a global terrorist organisation due to its international reach.
Drugs, "pink cocaine" labs and expansion plans
During the operation, police seized synthetic drugs, cocaine, a marijuana plantation and two laboratories producing "tusi", or pink cocaine, a drug commonly associated with the gang.
Investigators believe the group was attempting to establish operations in Spain, which has a large Venezuelan community. The raids come a year after the arrest in Barcelona of the alleged gang leader's brother, accused of spearheading the network's expansion into Europe.