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‘Years of bloodshed’: Federal authorities say they’ve taken down 22 members of Trinitarios gang
Authorities have now charged two dozen alleged gang members in connection to 10 murders across Lynn and Lawrence.
Federal authorities charged 22 alleged leaders, members, and associates of the Trinitarios gang on Wednesday with crimes related to gang activity, including six murders and 11 attempted murders in Lynn and Lawrence.
“Today’s law enforcement operation has struck a significant blow against the Trinitarios in Massachusetts, virtually dismantling an organization responsible for years of bloodshed, drug trafficking, and lawlessness,” United States Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley said in a press conference on Wednesday.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the unsealed charges are the result of an investigation that began in the aftermath of four murders as well as a series of attempted murders and shootings that took place in Lynn in 2023, all connected to the Trinitarios criminal enterprise.
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Court documents reveal that authorities found chapters of the Trinitarios in Lawrence, Lynn, Boston, and Haverhill.
Trinitarios members in these cities tried to “dominate their communities,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Members of the gang “do not hesitate to utilize violence, including murder” to achieve their goals, Foley’s office said.
“Some of these individuals are in this country as citizen card holders. Some of these chose to turn the land of opportunity into the land of opportunists,” said Foley. “They use the privilege of citizens and immigrants to create a criminal empire that has devasted neighborhoods in Massachusetts and destroyed lives. That anarchy ends today.”
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Prosecutors have charged 16 of the alleged Trinitarios members in Massachusetts with six murders — two that took place in Lawrence in 2017 and two double murders in Lynn in 2023. The Essex District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting four other homicides allegedly committed by members of the gang, Foley’s office said.
Closure for communities impacted by violence
Essex District Attorney Paul F. Tucker recalled standing on Essex Street in Lynn on Sept. 2, 2023, just hours after a shooting left seven people injured and two dead.
The violence broke out during a celebration for a young person heading to college.
“You could see the fear, the anxiety — it was palpable,” Tucker said during Wednesday’s press conference.
He said he was proud to be able to close the loop and bring justice to those families.
“There’s nothing like seeing families that are in such distress with loss, so much after crimes like these,” Tucker said.
History of the Trinitarios
The Trinitarios gang was founded at Rikers Island prison in New York City in 1992 to protect prison inmates of Dominican descent from other competing violent gang members, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The Trinitarios are a highly organized operation with a hierarchical structure, federal prosecutors have said.
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Enmanuel Paula-Cabral, known as “Nelfew,” “Gordo,” and “Manny,” is among the alleged gang members facing charges. He allegedly serves as the leader, or “State Supreme” of the Trinitarios for Massachusetts, Foley’s office said.
Paula-Cabral is also allegedly responsible for the Trinitarios Chapter operating in Manchester, New Hampshire and another in Maine.
Each chapter has a “Cabinet” of leaders responsible for recruitment, disciplining members, and collecting money that goes to support “illegal operations,” gang members who are incarcerated, and their families, Foley’s office said.
The gang has a written “Magna Carta” delineating its structure and rules. They recruit new members among communities of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, specifically young people from high schools in Lawrence and Lynn, according to federal prosecutors.
The gang often initiates new members by having them complete a “mission,” which typically involves a “substantial act of violence” including shootings, beatings, or fist fights with rival gang members, Foley’s office said.
Several of the alleged murderers have left the country, including two to Honduras and one to the Dominican Republic, said Foley. The FBI is working to return them to the U.S.
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At the press hearing, Foley said that the investigation remains ongoing.
“Our goal is to eliminate Trintarios in Massachusetts,” she said.
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