Five Venezuelan immigrants with alleged ties to Tren de Aragua have been jailed in Osceola County following a string of dozens of retail thefts committed throughout Central Florida, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspects — identified as Alexis Rodriguez-Benavides, 27; Samuel Anthony-Charle, 25; Darwins Vasquez-Leon, 28; Ildemaro Escalona-Mendoza, 26; and Ramon Carpintero-Luna, 26 — are accused of stealing from stores in eight counties, including Orange, Osceola and Seminole, the agency said in a Friday news release. Rodriguez-Benavides and Anthony-Charle were listed by the agency as being “documented members” of Tren de Aragua, which began as a prison gang in Venezuela but is now a transnational criminal outfit targeted by state and federal authorities.
The group has become notorious as the Trump administration maintains it is directed by the Venezuelan government, a claim contradicted by a U.S. intelligence assessment. President Donald Trump has invoked war powers to deport its alleged members without customary due process on that basis, triggering a series of court battles…