LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Peruvian police have rescued 123 women and girls who were being sexually exploited by a powerful Venezuelan gang, the force announced on Saturday.

Hundreds of police officers took part in the Friday night raid in the Peruvian capital Lima, during which 23 alleged gang members were arrested.

Police said 123 people including three minors were rescued, while a source within the force told AFP they were all women and girls.

Those arrested are part of Los Hijos de Dios, a faction of Venezuela’s biggest gang, Tren de Aragua, which has been operating in Peru since 2021.

In January 2024, Peruvian police rescued 40 young girls who were being sexually exploited on social networks by the same criminal organisation.

The Tren de Aragua gang was created in 2014 in the Venezuelan state of Aragua, but is now present in several South American countries, including Colombia, Peru and Chile.

United States (US) President Donald Trump campaigned for office last year promising mass deportations targeting undocumented migrants, whom he accused of involvement in violent crime and frequently likened to “animals” and “monsters”.

He took particular aim at Tren de Aragua, and on his first day in office on January 20 declared a national emergency to deal with the gang’s alleged activities in the United States.

On Wednesday, Washington said 10 members of Tren de Aragua had been deported to the notorious US-operated Guantanamo Bay prison facility in Cuba.