The White House says agents have arrested 1,296 members of a gang called Tren de Aragua. The arrests ran from Jan. 20, 2025, to Oct. 8, 2026. Task force data also shows nearly 350 people tied to the gang have federal charges.

The White House calls it the biggest federal push against cross-border crime ever. That is the government's own claim.

The numbers come from the Homeland Security Task Forces. The White House set them up in 2025 with the Homeland Security and Justice departments. Their job is to find crime rings in U.S. towns and remove them. Tren de Aragua is a top target.

The gang began about 10 years ago in a Venezuelan prison. It spread across South America and into the U.S. The U.S. calls it a terror group.

Lauren Bis speaks for the White House. She said the message to the gang is simple: "we will dismantle your networks, seize your profits." She blamed the Biden administration's border policies for letting the gang in.

An ICE spokesperson said task forces have found gang members in almost every state. A Justice Department spokeswoman said it has charged members with murder, sex trafficking and kidnapping. It has also charged them with drug, gun, robbery and money crimes.

Here is what the numbers do not say. The data does not say how many of the 1,296 arrests were for crimes. It does not say how many were for immigration. It does not say how many people were convicted. An arrest is not a conviction.

The 350 figure also looks familiar. On July 1, Todd Blanche said nearly 350 members and people tied to the gang had been charged or convicted. He was acting attorney general then. He said that over 18 months. The new number is almost the same.

Texas was part of that July news. Blanche announced charges against eight people. The cases came from Texas and Illinois. He said they involved kidnappings and murders. Several federal agencies worked the cases.

In June, President Trump said a U.S. strike killed the gang's leader. He is known as Niño Guerrero.

The White House says its campaign is one reason violent crime has dropped. FBI data shows the violent crime rate fell 9.3% in 2025. That was the biggest one-year drop since the FBI began its estimates in 1936. The murder rate fell 18.1%. The drop began before President Trump took office in January 2025.

Crime experts say it is hard to tell why crime fell. They list new police plans and local programs to stop violence. They also list the end of pandemic problems. The Council on Criminal Justice is a research group. It says it is too soon to credit one leader or party.

This is not the only gang news this month. Anibal Canelon Aguirre was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. The Justice Department calls him a gang leader. On Oct. 2, he pleaded not guilty to four charges tied to ATM thefts. One is helping a terror group. Read that story here: https://www.eltejanorgv.com/accused-atm-hacker-on-fbi-top-ten-list-faces-a-judge/

Everyone is presumed innocent until proved otherwise.