Gang investigation results in 26 new indictments in Lawrence, other Mass. cities

More than two dozen people with alleged gang ties were charged in Boston Tuesday, the latest round of indictments in a broader crackdown on a Dominican gang that federal prosecutors say is responsible for a slew of murders and other violent crime in Massachusetts.

Those arrested include the head of the Lawrence chapter of the Trinitarios, a transnational gang that prosecutors say trafficked drugs and weapons in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

At a press conference Tuesday, U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley  said the charges are part of a two-year investigation “to systematically dismantle and decimate the gang in Massachusetts.”

The Trinitarios were formed in the 1990s in New York City’s Rikers Island jail, according to a federal court filing, and have had a presence in the U.S., the Dominican Republic, as well as in parts of Europe and South America.

The investigation, dubbed Operation Paper Machetes, began in 2024 following four murders in Lynn the prior year, and ultimately targeted Trinitarios in Lawrence, Lynn, Boston and Haverhill. In February 2025, prosecutors charged 28 alleged members and associates under federal racketeering laws, including the group’s first- and second-in-command in Massachusetts.

According to a 465-page FBI affidavit, the second phase of the investigation resulted in 26 new indictments Tuesday.

Prosecutors cited five murders and 19 attempted murders in connection with the new indictments, on top of gun and drug trafficking operations.

Foley said the group recruits members by targeting Dominican immigrants, “particularly juveniles in local high schools in Lawrence and Lynn, appealing to their shared Spanish language, culture and Dominican patriotism.” She added that her office is offering to work with school districts to identify and root out gang activity.

Asked by a reporter whether additional Trinitarios groups are operating in Massachusetts, Foley said, “ If there are, we're going to find them and eradicate them.”

The investigation into the gang involved some 250 members of federal, state and local law enforcement, officials said.

“ Success on this scale is only possible when law enforcement and prosecutors at every level come together with one shared mission,” said Geoffrey Noble, colonel of the Massachusetts State Police. Noble expressed "gratitude" to ICE Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, the Essex County district attorney's office, the U.S. attorney's office, the Essex County sheriff's office and the police departments of Lawrence, Haverhill and Methuen.

“Last year, we were laser-focused on the Trinitarios operating out of Lynn, and today we set our sights on those based in Lawrence as part of our continued effort to dismantle this violent criminal organization,” Noble said.

That collaboration represents the kind of federal-state partnership Gov. Maura Healey often boasts of.

And though the investigation started before President Trump's second term, the announcement of the indictments was peppered with Trump administration priorities.

In a press release, the U.S. attorney's office said the case is part of Operation Take Back America, "a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime."

The investigation resulted in deportation proceedings for "seven illegal aliens," according to the release.

An attorney for one of the alleged gang leaders charged Tuesday did not immediately respond to a request for comment.