BOSTON — Federal authorities on Wednesday announced the dismantling of a violent transnational gang that has terrorized Massachusetts’ North Shore and other New England states for years.
About two dozen leaders and gang members of the Trinitarios, a Dominican American criminal organization, are facing federal charges, including racketeering conspiracy in connection with six murders and 11 attempted murders, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said during a press conference late Wednesday morning.
Two people, who were juveniles at the time of the alleged criminal offenses, have been charged by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office with murder.
“For all well over a decade, Trinitarios gang members have engaged in brazen acts of murder, assault, and narcotics distribution, instilling fear in the communities across this Commonwealth, particularly in Lynn and in Lawrence,” Foley said.
“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,” Foley said.
“This enforcement action ends the Trinitarios reign of terror in Massachusetts,” Foley said.
One of the gang’s alleged murder victims was a 16-year-old boy, Foley said.
The violent gang typically recruited its young members from local high schools in Lynn and Lawrence, prosecutors said.
Eight of the accused gang members are now in custody and one is still at large, Foley said. Two are in Honduras, one is in the Dominican Republic, and they are awaiting extradition to Massachusetts. Foley said she could not discuss where all of the defendants are since some documents remained sealed.
The charges announced Wednesday stem from a multijurisdictional investigation that began after four murders and a series of attempted murders and shootings that took place in Lynn in 2023. Investigators eyed the Trinitarios as the perpetrators of the crimes.
Key evidence includes the cell phones that investigators seized from the indicted defendants, Foley said.
“Those communications stored on those phones alone give you a very broad look at what this organization was, who was running it, who was operating within it, and what their status was within the organization,” Foley said.
“Those extractions from these phones are like a gold mine, and they are a road map to showing how they operated on a daily basis and how they recruited to continue to grow their numbers here,” Foley said.
According to court documents, chapters of the Trinitarios were identified in in Lawrence, Lynn, Boston and Haverhill.
“Trinitarios members in these cities allegedly undertake efforts to dominate their communities by intimidating rival gangs and establishing control over certain neighborhoods,” prosecutors said.
The Trinitarios used violence and murder to further “the organization’s goals and purposes,” prosecutors allege. Gang rivalries developed over time, for reasons including competition over drug territory.
Investigators said that the Massachusetts Trinitarios have allegedly committed at least 10 homicides in Essex County over the past decade. Prosecutors also believe its members are responsible “for numerous attempted murders, shootings, kidnappings and robberies.”
Sixteen members of the Trinitarios in Massachusetts have been charged with six of these murders – two of which took place in Lawrence in 2017 and two double murders in Lynn in 2023. The remaining four homicides are being prosecuted by the Essex District Attorney’s Office.
According to the charging documents, the Trinitarios are a hierarchical criminal organization, with positions at the state and local chapter level and whose members adhere to a code of conduct.
Enmanuel Paula-Cabral, a/k/a, “Nelfew,” a/k/a “Gordo,” “Manny,” allegedly serves as the State Supreme leader of the Trinitarios in Massachusetts. Prosecutors said he is responsible for all of the gang’s criminal activities, coordination with other state leaders and communication with Trinitarios gang leaders in the Dominican Republic.
Paula-Cabral is also allegedly responsible for the Trinitarios chapter operating in Manchester, New Hampshire, as well as the Trinitarios organization in Maine, where the gang “operates a lucrative drug-trade,” prosecutors said.
Ery Jordani Rosario, a/k/a “Racacha” allegedly held the secondary leadership role, referred to as the “Flag” or “Segundo,” in the Bay State, prosecutors said.
Each chapter allegedly has a “cabinet” of leaders who recruit new members and discipline members who violate Trinitarios’ directives, prosecutors said. These gang leaders also collect money into a communal account used to support illegal activities and incarcerated Trinitarios members and their families.
The Trinitarios allegedly use a written “Magna Carta” that outlines the structure and rules of the criminal organization, as well as slogans, symbols, colors and practices, Foley said.
This includes a green logo that consists of two crossed machetes and embellishments of “The Green Nation” and “Trinitarios Hasta La Muerte,” which translated from Spanish means, “Trinitarios Until Death.”
The Massachusetts Trinitarios have created custom T-shirts bearing this logo and each member’s gang name printed in green, prosecutors said.
For recruitment, the alleged gang members approached both legal and illegal immigrants from the Dominican Republic, specifically juveniles in local high schools in Lawrence and Lynn, prosecutors said.
To attract new recruits, the Trinitarios allegedly appealed “to their shared Spanish language and culture, Dominican patriotism and use the appearance of prosperity and brotherhood,” Foley said.
Members are allegedly initiated into the gang.
After a probationary period, members are often inducted upon completing a “mission,” which is generally a “substantial act of violence such as shootings, beatings, or fist fights with rival gang members that were the same age or stature,” prosecutors said.
According to the court documents, after they’re inducted into the gang, new members are “blessed” into the crime syndicate during a formal ceremony, are administered oaths by the State Supreme and are awarded with ceremonial beaded necklaces.
Younger members are allegedly tasked with lesser roles during many violent “missions,” including standing lookout during a shooting, holding or concealing weapons for older gang members and transporting weapons after they’re used in shootings.
According to the charging documents, the Trinitarios “endeavor to project power over the internet and social media” by producing music and music videos featuring members in Trinitarios colors and clothing holding weapons, cash and other items.
Their lyrics “boast about violence, drugs and other criminal endeavors as warnings and threats to other rival gangs,” investigators said.
Michael Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, said that Wednesday’s announcement comes with a stern warning for violent criminals in the Bay State.
“Today the message should be loud and clear: transnational criminal organizations and their associates who commit violent acts and who peddle in poison in our communities will never have refuge in the United States,” Krol told reporters.
“Today’s operation sends a message that deadly gang violence, as well as illegal gun and drug trafficking, have no place in the Commonwealth,” Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoff Noble said during the press conference.
“Operations like this one are dangerous that require focus, coordination and precision,“ Noble said. “I commend the efforts of our brave troopers and law enforcement partners who have worked tirelessly for months to bring these criminals to justice today.”
“We cannot forget the victims in these cases and families who no longer have loved ones because of these crimes that these men are accused of,” Noble said. “We hope these arrests give some small form of comfort to those families who have lost so much in the face of senseless violence.”
Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker said he and others met with the victims’ family members on Wednesday.
“I had a 32-year career in law enforcement prior to becoming DA. I’ve met with victims of crimes. I’ve sat in their living rooms. I’ve had to give people bad news,” Tucker said.
“Days like today make all of those cases that we had to work on worthwhile,” Tucker said. “If you draw a straight line from seeing the faces of the victims on Camden Street, on Essex Street in Lynn, and then to have the opportunity today to meet with the family members, that’s very gratifying.”
“This is a tremendous investigation. I hope it’s not lost on anybody, the complexity and the breadth of this case, to bring it to fruition today, it’s just magnificent,” Tucker said.
The charge of conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity (also known as “racketeering conspiracy” or “RICO conspiracy”) provides for a sentence of up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
The charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act conspiracy) provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Foley said investigators won’t stop until violent criminal organizations are taken out of the Bay State and brought to justice.
“Such shameless and senseless acts of violence have no place anywhere; especially not in any city in Massachusetts,” Foley said Wednesday. “If you threaten the safety of our residents, we will find you, we will hold you accountable, and we will ensure that justice is served.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
