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      What Is Tren de Aragua?

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      A gang with roots in a Venezuelan prison, the criminal group was at the center of President Trump’s order invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.President Trump’s executive order on Saturday invoking the Alien Enemies Act targeted Venezuelan citizens 14 years and older with ties to the transnational gang Tren de Aragua, saying they “are liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies.”Mr. Trump’s order was quickly challenged in court, but the gang has been a growing source of concern for U.S. officials over the last year. The Biden administration labeled Tren de Aragua a transnational criminal organization in 2024, the New York Police Department has highlighted its activity on the East Coast, and the Trump White House began the process of designating it a foreign terrorist organization in January.Here is what we know about the gang:A rising force out of VenezuelaTren de Aragua (Train of Aragua, or Aragua Train) has roots in Tocorón prison in Venezuela’s northern Aragua state, which the group’s leaders had transformed into a mini-city with a pool, restaurants and a zoo. They reportedly recorded executions and torture there to maintain control over other prisoners.As Venezuela’s economy collapsed and its government under President Nicolás Maduro became more repressive, the group began exploiting vulnerable migrants. Tren de Aragua’s influence soon stretched into other parts of Latin America, and it developed into one of the region’s most violent and notorious criminal organizations, focusing on sex trafficking, human smuggling and drugs.Colombian officials in 2022 accused the gang of at least 23 murders after the police began to find body parts in bags. Alleged members have also been apprehended in Chile and in Brazil, where the gang aligned itself with Primeiro Comando da Capital, one of that country’s biggest organized crime rings.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Former Texas Megachurch Pastor Is Indicted on Child Sex Abuse Charges

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      Robert Morris, the former senior pastor of the Dallas-based Gateway Church, abused a girl over several years in the 1980s, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office said.Robert Morris, the founder of a Texas megachurch and a former faith adviser to the Trump White House, was indicted Wednesday on charges that he molested a girl over several years in the 1980s, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office said.Last summer, days after Cindy Clemishire publicly accused Mr. Morris, 63, of having abused her when she was a girl, Mr. Morris resigned as the senior pastor of the Dallas-based Gateway Church.On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted Mr. Morris on five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child after concluding that he had used his hands and body to touch the girl’s private parts from when she was 12 until she was 14, according to the indictment. The indictment refers to the girl only as C.C.Ms. Clemishire, 55, of Oklahoma, told The Dallas Morning News last year that the abuse had begun when her family invited Mr. Morris — then a young, traveling preacher — to stay at their home in Oklahoma on Christmas Day in 1982. It took her decades to realize that what had happened to her was abuse and a crime, Ms. Clemishire told the newspaper.In a statement on Wednesday, Ms. Clemishire said, “After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me.” She added, “My family and I are deeply grateful to the authorities who have worked tirelessly to make this day possible and remain hopeful that justice will ultimately prevail.”Lawyers who had represented Mr. Morris did not immediately respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment.In a statement to The Christian Post last year after Ms. Clemishire made her allegations, Mr. Morris, who founded Gateway Church in 2000, confessed that he had engaged in “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady.” Gateway Church, one of the largest churches in the United States, claimed to have more than 100,000 attendees.In a statement on Wednesday night, Gateway Church said: “We are aware of the actions being taken by the legal authorities in Oklahoma and are grateful for the work of the justice system in holding abusers accountable for their actions. We continue to pray for Cindy Clemishire and her family, for the members and staff of Gateway Church, and for all of those impacted by this terrible situation.”Mr. Morris had served on a faith advisory council during President Trump’s first term. He hosted Mr. Trump at Gateway Church in June 2020. In 2024, a spokesman for Mr. Trump said that Mr. Morris had not played a role in his 2024 presidential campaign.Specifics about the criminal investigation into Ms. Clemishire’s claims were not immediately available. The charges that Mr. Morris faces each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.Sheelagh McNeill More

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      More Women File Lawsuits Against Brothers Accused of Sex Crimes

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      Tal Alexander and his brothers, Oren Alexander and Alon Alexander, who are twins, now face at least 24 civil lawsuits, as they await trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.Seven lawsuits were filed this week against one or more of the Alexander brothers, who are facing multiple accusations of sexual assault in both civil and criminal court. The newest allegations against Tal Alexander and his brothers, Oren Alexander and Alon Alexander, who are twins, came this week in a flurry of last-minute claims all brought against the men as a legal window for decades-old allegations is closing. Two of the lawsuits were filed on Friday night to meet a midnight deadline.The Alexanders are collectively now facing at least 24 lawsuits, deepening the legal troubles for the brothers once known for their jet-setting lifestyles fueled by the work of Tal Alexander and Oren Alexander in the luxury residential real estate. In the latest batch of lawsuits, the net of allegations has widened to include their parents; Douglas Elliman, the real estate brokerage where Tal Alexander and Oren Alexander once worked; the Alexander family business; and the owner of an estate in the Hamptons who frequently hosted parties that the brothers attended.The claims add new twists to the maze of sexual assault allegations against the brothers who were arrested in December in Miami Beach on federal sex-trafficking charges. Currently jailed in New York, they are scheduled to go to trial early next year. All three have pleaded not guilty.Just a few years ago, the brothers were fixtures of a social circuit in Miami and Manhattan, making their nightlife adventures part of their brand. Tal Alexander and Oren Alexander were among the country’s most prominent real estate agents, while Alon Alexander, who ran the family business Kent Security Services and did not work in real estate, accompanied them on the circuit.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Epstein Files’ Release, Hyped by Pam Bondi, Falls Short of Expectations

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      The release of flight logs and Jeffrey Epstein’s contact list by the attorney general was met with criticism from those who had expected the documents to reveal new information.For days, Attorney General Pam Bondi had talked about releasing the “Epstein files,” supposedly secret documents the federal government has on some of the powerful men who were in the orbit of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.But the roughly 200 pages of documents that Ms. Bondi released on Thursday contained little new information pointing to wrongdoing by anyone other than Mr. Epstein, a registered sex offender who died in jail. The document dump largely consisted of flight logs for Mr. Epstein’s planes — long ago made public — and contact information for hundreds of associates, along with brief descriptions of items found at his residences.The release was billed as a gesture ushering in a new era of transparency at the Justice Department. But the hyped first release of documents (which Ms. Bondi teased as “breaking news” in a Fox News appearance on Wednesday night) appeared to be mostly political theater. Its confusing daylong rollout even spun off a few new conspiracy theories among some Trump supporters, who view the Epstein investigation as a fountainhead for other conspiracies.On Thursday afternoon, Ms. Bondi and Kash Patel, the director of the F.B.I., offered a sneak preview of the documents to several conservative influencers, some of whom emerged from the West Wing waving chunky white binders with the label “The Epstein Files: Phase I.” One of them later called it an “interesting souvenir.”But by midafternoon, the Justice Department had not posted the contents. And Ms. Bondi was drawing criticism on social media from those who had taken her at her word the night before. The conservative personality Glenn Beck posted on X: “The Epstein files are a total joke,” and asked, “Who is subverting POTUS?”Ms. Bondi responded by promising more documents to come. Later, she said that a “source” in the F.B.I. field office in New York City had told her the bureau withheld “thousands” of previously unknown pages of Epstein-related documents and that she was determined to get them, according to a letter her spokesman provided to reporters.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Trial of Former Surgeon Accused of Abusing Nearly 300 Opens in France

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      A former surgeon is accused of raping or sexually assaulting 299 people, mostly children, over 25 years. It is considered to be France’s largest-ever pedophilia case.A former surgeon went on trial in western France on Monday on charges that he raped or sexually assaulted hundreds of people, most of them former pediatric patients, in what is widely considered the biggest pedophilia case in French history.The former surgeon, Joël Le Scouarnec, 74, is accused of raping or sexually assaulting 299 people over 25 years, from 1989 to 2014. Almost all of the victims are his former patients, and almost all of them were children at the time of the alleged abuse. The average age of the patients he is accused of sexually assaulting was 11.The trial opened in the coastal town of Vannes, in Brittany, where Mr. Le Scouarnec was led in by police officers at the start of proceedings.Wearing a black vest, with a bald head and a ring of white hair on the back and sides, he spoke in a clear, slightly hoarse voice as the court confirmed his name, date of birth, and other biographical information.“Your profession before you were incarcerated?” asked Aude Buresi, the presiding judge.“Surgeon,” Mr. Le Scouarnec answered calmly.He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted, because there are no consecutive sentences in France. He has denied some charges of rape but admitted to touching some patients’ genitals during medical examinations. The rape charges are mostly related to penetration with fingers, which reflects the definition of rape in France.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Alexander Brothers Face More Lawsuits Accusing Them of Sexual Assault

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      Tal Alexander and Oren Alexander, once top real estate brokers, and their brother Alon Alexander are currently in jail awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.Eleven more women have filed lawsuits against one or more of the Alexander brothers, the once high-flying trio who are facing multiple accusations of sexual assault in both civil and criminal court.Tal Alexander and his brothers, Oren Alexander and Alon Alexander, who are twins, are now facing at least 17 lawsuits from women who say they were sexually assaulted by one or more of them and, in some instances, drugged. The latest lawsuits, filed in a bundle in New York on Tuesday, include accusations of assault in Miami, Manhattan and even Moscow.The women’s claims are now part of a growing maze of sexual assault allegations against the brothers who were arrested in December in Miami Beach on federal sex-trafficking charges. Currently jailed in New York, they are scheduled to go to trial early next year.All three men have pleaded not guilty.Jenny Wilson and Richard Klugh, lawyers for Oren Alexander, said in an emailed statement that their client “has never raped anyone and he has never drugged anyone.”“These belated allegations should be seen for what they are — a last-ditch money grab barred by state law. Oren will establish his innocence of this concerted attack driven in every instance by financial objectives,” they said.Lawyers for Tal Alexander and Alon Alexander did not immediately respond to requests to comment on Tuesday’s legal filings.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Prison Boss Elevated by Hochul Was Accused of Rape by 2 Former Inmates

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      The attacks occurred years earlier when Bennie Thorpe worked at a state women’s prison, his accusers said. Now he runs a prison where an inmate was fatally beaten by guards.After guards at the Marcy Correctional Facility in central New York beat a handcuffed prisoner to death late last year, Gov. Kathy Hochul promised immediate reforms to turn the troubled prison around.One of her first directives was to install a new leader, Bennie Thorpe, who had recently run another correctional facility and had experience with security operations and rehabilitation programs. Mr. Thorpe, she said, had “expertise and a fresh perspective on what must be done.”He also had a record of being accused of rape and sexual assault by inmates at one of his former workplaces, records and interviews show.In lawsuits filed in 2023, two women who had been incarcerated at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester County accused Mr. Thorpe of sexual abuse when he was a captain there.One said he summoned her to an office, groped her breasts and raped her in December 2018.Another said he raped her three times in the spring of 2019 in a room near the prison’s medical unit.Neither of the allegations has been previously reported. Both lawsuits are still pending in the New York State Court of Claims.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Sexual Violence Against Children Soars in Congo, U.N. Group Says

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      UNICEF accused “armed men” of raping scores of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been ravaged by conflict recently.Sexual violence against children in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has soared in recent weeks, the United Nations Children’s Fund said on Thursday, as ethnic tensions and disputes over land and mineral resources fuel fighting in the country. The organization, known as UNICEF, reported that health care facilities in Goma and the surrounding areas had documented 170 cases of children having been raped in a single week, between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2.The health facilities reported 572 cases of rape that week, compared to an average of 95 cases in the prior weeks, said Lianne Gutcher, UNICEF’s communication chief for Congo. She added that the violence was being perpetrated by “armed men” belonging to all parties in the conflict.The aid group Save the Children reported similar trends of children being victimized across eastern Congo.Rebels, said to be backed by Rwanda, have been seizing huge tracts of the Democratic Republic of Congo at lightning speed. In a month, they have routed Congo’s underequipped army several times and caused more than half a million people to flee. In late January, they rebels captured Goma, a Congolese city of three million people along the Rwandan border.Rwanda’s president has denied that his country is arming the rebels or that his troops are in Congo.The rebels, known as M23, say they are protecting ethnic Tutsis, the minority group massacred in a 1994 genocide, some of whom also live in Congo. Experts, however, say the group is after Congo’s rare minerals.Captured soldiers of the Democratic Republic of Congo aboard vehicles outside the city of Goma last month as armed rebel soldiers walk by.Guerchom Ndebo for The New York Times“In North and South Kivu provinces, we are receiving horrific reports of grave violations against children by parties to the conflict, including rape and other forms of sexual violence at levels surpassing anything we have seen in recent years,” UNICEF’s executive director, Catherine Russell, said in a statement. She added that medical workers were running out of drugs used to reduce the risk HIV infection after an assault.Save the Children said it had evidence that 18 girls were sexually violated in South Kivu Province, and that a 16-year-old girl was killed resisting armed men.“One mother recounted to our staff how her six daughters, the youngest just 12 years old, were systematically raped by armed men while searching for food,” she said.The rebel group’s leaders have vowed to bring order and security to the areas it controls.Elian Peltier More