The Tren de Aragua grew out of disastrous regime policies to give gang leaders more power in prisons. Its mysterious leader, Niño Guerrero, soon controlled an entire facility, and installed a prison bar, a nightclub—and even a zoo. More state bungling allowed the Tren to take over entire city neighbourhoods unchallenged. So when Venezuela’s economy plummeted and hundreds of thousands fled the nation, it became a key player in the booming migrant smuggling trade, spreading into neighboring Latin American states. Now the Tren is in the US. But is there really a full-scale invasion, as media are beginning to say? We unpick the fact and fiction of this dangerous new group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices