Spanish police say they have arrested 13 suspected members of the Venezuelan criminal organization Torren de Aragua, marking the first time one of the group’s cells has been dismantled in the country.
Most of the arrests during last week’s operation occurred in Barcelona, but authorities are still investigating whether there are other people involved in the network.
Torren de Aragua is one of Latin America’s most notorious criminal organizations and has long been targeted by US President Donald Trump, who has accused it of drug trafficking, murder and other acts of violence in the Western Hemisphere.
In January, President Trump signed an executive order designating the Torren de Aragua and other gangs as foreign terrorist organizations. Since September, the United States has carried out several deadly attacks on drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean believed to be linked to the group.
The suspects arrested in Spain included people of various nationalities, but “most were from Venezuela,” the chief inspector of the national police’s General Intelligence Service told CNN.
The operation came after authorities arrested the brother of the top world leader of the organization known as “Niño Guerrero” in March 2024 on suspicion of involvement in terrorism, human trafficking, arms trafficking, extortion, money laundering and criminal association.
His arrest led Spanish police to suspect that the gang had a wider presence in the country.
Police announced that subsequent investigations had uncovered a network of people across the country who “made up a criminal organization that was primarily financed by drug trafficking, particularly Tusi and cocaine.”
Tusi, also known as “pink cocaine,” is a powdered drug cocktail that usually causes hallucinogenic effects, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The name comes from the chemical 2C-B, which was originally used to make the drug, according to the DEA.
Spanish police told CNN they dismantled the cells when they were still in their early “initial stages” before they were embedded further into the country. They also suspect that the group has been active since 2023 and has been operating in Barcelona’s El Raval district, near the Arc de Triomf, and even in the El Caniverar district in the east of the Spanish capital Madrid.
What we don’t yet know is who supplied the cocaine to the cells, but we suspect it came from other European countries.
According to police, Solitary is believed to have prepared Tusi at his home.
The law enforcement operations that led to their arrests were supported by the Colombian National Police and the AMERIPOL-EL PACTO 2.0 project, which seeks cooperation between the European Union and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
CNN’s Isa Cardona contributed to this article.
