Trinitarios

The Trinitarios were established in 1993 on Rikers Island, the New York City jail,Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Barbara Marcolini, [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/10/nyregion/lesandro-guzman-feliz-bronx-stabbing-video.html How a 15-Year-Old Ended Up Stabbed to Death Outside a Bronx Bodega], New York Times (September 10, 2018).{{Cite web |title=National Gang Threat Assessment|date=2009|publisher=National Gang Intelligence Center|url=http://www.fbi.gov/publications/ngta2009.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707042635/http://www.fbi.gov/publications/ngta2009.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2010-07-07|page=2016}} by two Dominicans facing separate murder charges—Leonides "Junito" Sierra and Julio "Caballo" Marine. The Trinitarios on the East Coast was built in Rikers Island prison to protect mainly Dominicans and other Hispanic nationalities from African American gangs or other American gangs. This Dominican gang is considered to be the first Latino gang that originated in New York City and then later spread out to the whole northeastern region of United States. The group was named for three revolutionaries of the Dominican War of Independence; its slogan is Dios, patria y libertad (the official motto of the Dominican Republic, "God, homeland and liberty").Their colors are lime green, as well as red, blue, and white (the colors of the Dominican Republic flag).

The group suffered a major blow in 2009, as the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York dismantled the group through a series of prosecutions. In 2011, 50 members and associates of the Bronx Trinitarios Gang (BTG) were charged with federal racketeering, narcotics and firearms offenses. Forty-one defendants were charged with a racketeering conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in connection to alleged participation in a criminal enterprise that included narcotics trafficking, murder and attempted murder.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/trinitarios-gang-members-arrested-new-york|title=Trinitarios gang members arrested in New York|website=Ice.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-06-26}}

In 2014, the Trinitarios' co-founder and former leader, Sierra, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the racketeering conspiracy, to run consecutively with a 22½ year to life sentence in New York that Sierra was already serving as a result of his 1989 murder conviction.[https://www.atf.gov/news/pr/national-leader-%E2%80%9Ctrinitarios%E2%80%9D-gang-sentenced-manhattan-federal-court-19-years-prison National Leader of "Trinitarios" Gang Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 19 Years in Prison], U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (July 25, 2014). Some 140 other members, including Sierra's chief lieutenants, were also convicted and received lengthy prison sentences.

Later, however, the group had a resurgence. Internal factions of the Trinitarios have battled with one another, beginning in 2011, when a leader of a Sunset Park, Brooklyn, chapter of the Trinitarios attempted to expand to the Bronx without authorization. The gang war that ensued intensified in 2018, with several shootings.

In February 2025, federal authorities announced that they had arrested 22 reputed members and associates of the gang on a federal racketeering indictment charge that includes six murders that took place in the Massachusetts cities of Lynn and Lawrence between 2017 and 2023. Federal prosecutors allege that the Trinitarios were involved in racketeering since at least 2019 in several Massachusetts cities including Boston, Malden, Salem, Haverhill, Peabody, Middleton and the aforementioned cities of Lynn and Lawrence. In addition, it is alleged that the gang operates a lucrative drug trade in Manchester, New Hampshire and the state of Maine.{{Citeweb|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/19/metro/trinitarios-dominican-street-gang-murders-boston/|title=Reputed members and associates of Trinitarios street gang charged with six murders in Lawrence and Lynn, officials say|last1=Murphy|first1=Shelley|last2=Ellement|first2=John R.|publisher=The Boston Globe|date=February 19, 2025|accessdate=February 20, 2025}}

In 2011, a New York City Police Department estimated that there were 3,181 Trinitarios in the city, about 5% of the total number of members of New York gangs. Their numbers grew rapidly around 2007–2008,{{cite web|last=Messing |first=Philip |url=https://nypost.com/2008/01/14/schools-gang-scourge/ |title=Schools' Gang Scourge |newspaper=New York Post|date=January 14, 2008}} but later remained stabilized. The gang operates mainly in New York and New Jersey,{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/2011-national-gang-threat-assessment|title=2011 National Gang Threat Assessment|year=2011|publisher=National Gang Intelligence Center}} with activities in Upper Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Albany and Long Island. It also has a presence elsewhere in the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, including Rhode Island, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Texas, Florida, as well as Tennessee. In Spain, membership of the Trinitarios is predominantly Dominican, but also Bolivian, Colombian and Spanish.[https://www.thelocal.es/20140325/spain-cracks-down-on-latin-criminal-gangs Spain cracks down on deadly Latin crime gangs] The Local (25 March 2014) Such Latin American gangs spread to Spain as a result of mass deportations from the United States of Latin American immigrants with criminal records.[http://www.ipsnews.net/2006/09/spain-latin-kings-gang-a-cultural-association-in-barcelona/ SPAIN: Latin Kings Gang a “Cultural Association” in Barcelona] Tito Drago, Inter Press Service (21 September 2006)

The Trinitarios are known for their high degree of organization, including a hierarchical structure,[https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs32/32784/32784p.pdf Drug Market Analysis, 2009], New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, National Drug Intelligence Center, U.S. Department of Justice, pp. 5-6, 11.Jan Ransom, [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/nyregion/lesandro-guzman-murder-trinitarios-verdict.html 'Junior' Guzman Killing: 5 Convicted of Hacking Innocent Teenager to Death], New York Times (June 14, 2019). as well as for their use of brutal violence. Testimony given against Trinitarios in court indicated that "one needs a sponsor to join, and once in, new members receive a rule book, take an oath and swear to abide by the gang's constitution." The gang's "weapon of choice" is the machete, but members also carry baseball bats, guns, and knives. Criminal activities perpetrated by Trinitarios include drug dealing, in heroin and cocaine, as well as assaults and home invasions. The Trinitarios have infiltrated schools as a recruiting ground.

Three Trinitarios members, including the Primera (leader) of the gang's Rhode Island chapter, were indicted by a federal grand jury on firearms and drug charges on August 25, 2010, after being captured on an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) videotape attending an organizational meeting in Providence. A fourth member was charged on state firearm charges.[https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/boston/press-releases/2010/bs082610a.htm Gang Leader, Three Others in Secret FBI Videotape of Trinitarios Gang Meeting Charged with Firearms, Drug Offenses] fbi.gov (August 26, 2010)

Seven Barcelona-based members were convicted of using a kitchen knife to carve a fifty centimeter "X" into the back of a gang member deemed a traitor for associating with MS-13 on March 21, 2012.[https://elpais.com/ccaa/2013/03/21/catalunya/1363898215_803985.html Una cruz para ‘marcar’ al traidor] Jesús García, El País (22 March 2013) During the trial, the Trinitarios were designated a criminal organization which allowed heavier sentences to be imposed upon the perpetrators and the gang's leaders.[https://www.insightcrime.org/news/analysis/could-spain-designation-of-latam-gangs-push-them-towards-orgcrime/ Could Spain Designation Push LatAm Gangs Towards Org Crime?] Charles Parkinson, InSight Crime (14 May 2014) On the same day as the ruling – May 11, 2014 – a brawl occurred in Madrid involving Trinitarios and Ñetas, leading to the arrests of twenty-six gang members.[https://elpais.com/ccaa/2014/05/12/madrid/1399849909_465157.html Dos heridos graves y 26 detenidos en una reyerta entre Ñetas y Trinitarios] F. Javier Barroso, El País (12 May 2014)

In August 2018 several Trinitarios gang members were arrested for shooting at a house in Lawrence, Massachusetts.{{cite news |title=Alleged gang member charged with shooting at Lawrence home |url=https://www.eagletribune.com/news/merrimack_valley/alleged-gang-member-charged-with-shooting-at-lawrence-home/article_840d58b7-c2d8-572b-b620-0bb70ac876e0.html |access-date=16 January 2019}} A Trinitarios gang member was arrested in January 2019 for the shooting of a 16-year-old girl in Lawrence.{{cite news |title=Gang member held without bail in Lawrence shooting |url=https://www.eagletribune.com/news/merrimack_valley/gang-member-held-without-bail-in-lawrence-shooting/article_ea034701-746b-5079-86fc-78582b12a50a.html |access-date=16 January 2019}}

In June 2018, a Trinitario gang member from Haverhill, Massachusetts was arrested for the murder of a rival Gangster Disciples member.{{cite news |title=Police: Shooting part of 'gang war' in city |url=https://www.hgazette.com/news/local_news/the-week-in-review/article_278a0348-b7b8-5e6d-a275-5b8b91156ea3.html |access-date=16 January 2019}} A Haverhill detective wrote that the arrests were in connection with an ongoing feud (a gang war) between the Trinitarios and their rivals, the Gangster Disciples, that had resulted in multiple shootings."

In November 2019, in Massachusetts, 18 Trinitarios were among 32 arrested in "Operation Emerald Crush." The operation involved more than 70 federal, state and local officers who carried out the arrests of suspects alleged to have sold massive amounts of firearms and drugs including cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and crack cocaine with an estimated street value of $120,000. Authorities confiscated 79 firearms in the operation. Out of the 79 guns, which came in from out of state, 17 were stolen and at least two were used in shootings. In one case, undercover officers were able to buy 27 guns in one transaction.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/11/15/feds-recover-79-guns-charge-over-30-suspects-in-lawrence-drug-and-firearm-bust/|title=Feds recover 79 guns, charge over 30 suspects in Lawrence drug and firearm bust|date=November 15, 2019}}

In April 2024, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts said 121 indictments were levied against known members and associates of the Trinitarios for numerous crimes across the state.{{cite web |title=6 gang members facing over 100 indictments for crimes committed across Mass. and NH, DA says |url=https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/essex-county/6-gang-members-facing-over-100-indictments-crimes-committed-across-mass-nh-da-says/QVIK5ERKQBA3TOWY7L566ONF4Y/}}

{{Main|Murder of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz}}

On June 20, 2018, in the Bronx, 15-year-old Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz left his apartment to loan a friend five dollars.{{cite web|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/06/23/bronx-machete-attack-teen-victim/|title='His Dream Was To Be A Police Officer:' Friends, Family Mourn Teen Fatally Stabbed In Apparent Case Of Mistaken Identity In The Bronx|date=23 June 2018|website=Newyork.cbsloc/al.com|access-date=24 August 2018}} Guzman-Feliz was a member of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) Explorers program, a group for youths interested in law enforcement careers,{{Cite news|url=http://www.fox29.com/news/funeral-for-bronx-teen-killed-outside-bodega|title=Farewell to 'Junior': Funeral for slain Bronx teen|work=FOX 5 NY|date=June 27, 2018 |access-date=2018-07-11}} and aspired to become a detective.{{cite web|url=http://www.news12.com/story/38521919/friends-family-honor-the-life-of-lesandro-guzman-feliz|title=Friends, family honor the life of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz|date=June 27, 2018|website=News 12|access-date=July 11, 2018}} Five Trinitarios, who were "hunting their enemies," mistakenly believed that the teenager was a young man that had disrespected one of the gang members' nieces. The boy whom they were actually after bore a striking resemblance to Junior, therefore he was believed to be the boy they were after. After the murder, a leader of the gang went on social media and apologized to Junior's family, and said they had locked the killers out of their gang. The gang members entered the bodega at Bathgate Avenue and East 183rd Street where Guzman-Feliz was seeking shelter, dragged him onto the sidewalk in front of the store, and beat him and stabbed him with machetes and large knives. The murder was captured by security cameras and cell phone-video.

The murder outraged the public,{{cite news |title=2 more arrests in Bronx attack that killed innocent teen 'Junior' |url=https://abc7ny.com/9th-suspect-arrested-in-innocent-bronx-teens-death/3698729/|publisher=WABC|date=3 July 2018}} and video footage of the murder went viral. In June 2019, five Trinitarios were convicted of first-degree murder and other charges, including conspiracy and gang assault, in the murder. Two gang members who participated in the attack testified for the prosecution, revealing the inner workings of the gang. After the verdict was rendered, one of the killers shouted, "Popote, hasta la muerte!" ("Trinitarios until death"). In July 2022, two leaders of a ‘set’ or faction were convicted of murder for ordering the killing.{{cite web | url=https://nypost.com/2022/07/29/two-gang-leaders-convicted-for-junior-guzman-feliz-murder/ | title=Two gang leaders convicted in murder of 'Junior' Guzman-Feliz | date=29 July 2022 }}

Several others are awaiting trial in connection with the murder.

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{{Organized crime groups in New York City}}

{{Organized crime groups in America}}

Category:Organizations established in 1993

Category:1993 establishments in New York City

Category:Hispanic-American gangs

Category:Latino street gangs

Category:Gangs in New Jersey

Category:Gangs in New York City

Category:Gangs in Massachusetts

Category:Gangs in Pennsylvania

Category:Gangs in Rhode Island

Category:Gangs in Spain

Category:Organized crime in the Dominican Republic