The Tren del Llano (initially known as ''El Picure'') is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

n criminal organization founded by José Antonio Tovar Colina alias "El Picure" in 2008, initially operating in the states of Guárico and Aragua, starting as a gang dedicated to

car theft Motor vehicle theft (also known as a car theft and, in the United States, grand theft auto) is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle. Nationwide in the United States in 2020, there were 810,400 vehicles reported ...

. The Tren del Llano is known for being one of the first megagangs. The gang opposes the continued rule of Nicolás Maduro after the 2024 election and subsequent

controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

.(in Spanish
La historia del “Tren del Llano”, la banda ilegal que amenaza a Nicolás Maduro tras la polémica electoral
''El Colombiano'', Nelson Ricardo Matta Colorado, 30 July 2024 In March 2023, the Venezuelan government deployed 1,500 soldiers to Altagracia de Orituco as part of a new operation aimed at ending the gang. However,

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

defenders documented abuses by security forces, such as arbitrary arrests, among other human rights violations, during the operation. In 2024,

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

attributed to Tren del Llano threatened the opposition leader

María Corina Machado María Corina Machado Parisca (born 7 October 1967, Machado, María CorinaMi experiencia. Es ahora. María Corina. Accessed 25 April 2010. sometimes referred to as MCM) is a Venezuelan politician who served as an elected member of the National ...

with death.

References

See also