Los Trinitarios: The Latin American gang linked to three London murders

A Latin American gang is believed to be connected to a series of killings across London.Los Trinitarios, a Dominican American which was founded in 1993, have been linked to three brutal murders which took place across the capital in 2025.The gang traditionally operates in the United States, Central and South America and Spain, but is also said to be operating within Spanish speaking communities around Elephant and Castle in south London. They are known for recruiting children while still at school and placing them in "coros" (choirs) covering a neighbourhood, the Times reported.Read MoreLos Trinitarios was founded by Leonides "Junito" Sierra and Julio "Caballo" Marine, two Dominicans held in Rikers Island jail in New York while facing separate murder charges.The gang has long been a focus of law enforcement agencies in the US, with prosecutors in Boston charging 26 people in June with racketeering conspiracy offences, including five murders and 19 attempted murders.The US attorney's office for Massachusetts has said that the gang's members "employ an internal hierarchy to organise and execute violence, and undertake extensive efforts to maintain the secrecy of the organisation". The Spanish interior ministry said of the gang: "The Trinitarios youth group is currently one of the most active and violent groups nationwide. “[It] has branches in several European countries where, according to investigators, they also carry out violent criminal activities related to drug trafficking, document forgery and scams, among others."Yeray Sanchez Morales17-year-old student Yeray Sanchez Morales was stabbed nine times in the neck and chest during an attack in August last year.He was killed by a group of youths suspected of being linked to Los Trinitarios during a 48-second attack while innocently sitting outside a McDonalds restaurant on Old Kent Road.His friend, Jeremy Gimenez, who was also 17, was stabbed in the back of his left shoulder during the attack.Yeray Sanchez MoralesPASeven gang members, aged between 15 and 20 at the time, were sentenced on Friday.Two of the men, Andres Tapia Londono and Christhofer Jesus Vasquez, who were both aged just 17 at the time of the attack, were sentenced to four years' youth custody for manslaughter.Elena Morales, Yeray’s mother, said: “Yeray was only 17 years old when his life was stolen. He was a sensitive, happy, polite and generous young man, always ready to help anyone who needed it. He had a special way of connecting with others, and a kindness that shone through everything he did.“He loved to dance and sing. He had just finished the first year of a Sport Science course and he dreamt of becoming a PE Teacher.Christhofer Jesus Vasquez and Andres Tapia Londono have been convicted of manslaughterMet Police / LS"As a mother, I have no words to describe the pain that crushes my soul. Burying my own son, going to the courts, hearing about how he died, the whole process has been unbearably painful. This sadness takes away my desire to live. But I am sustained by God, and by the support of my family and friends and all the professional teams that have treated me with such understanding and affection.” Giovanny Rendon BedoyaGiovanny Rendon Bedoya, 21, had the tips of three fingers severed and suffered injuries to his eyes, body and legs when he was attacked with machetes in Walworth in April 2025.One of his killers, Christian Batista Gonzalez, 22, was arrested in Barcelona while trying to escape to his native Dominican Republic. Giovanny Rendon BedoyaMet PoliceHe was extradited to Britain and jailed in May along four other men, for a combined 107 years.The Spanish authorities said that Gonzalez was wanted in the UK because "the fugitive and five other alleged members of the Trinitarios gang violently accosted another young man from a rival gang".Giovanny’s mother said: “I want the world to know that my son was innocent. He had no part in any of the earlier events that evening. He was not fighting with anyone. He came out of his address and within seconds, was met with violence. He was not carrying a weapon. He did not go out to harm anyone. Bryan Hernandez, Christian Gonzales, Joseph Jimenez, Angel Angulo and Zozoro Boizo, who were convicted of Giovanny’s murderMet PoliceThe five people guilty for his murder however intended to do just that, and for whatever reason they chose my son, they took away his life in the most brutal of ways.“My son was killed in a country that I do not know, and I do not speak the language of. This put me in an extremely vulnerable position as I have had no choice but to rely on other people this entire last year. Every time my phone has rung from an overseas number, my heart skipped a beat and I would answer tentatively, in fear of hearing more bad news.”Gregory Castillo VolquezGregory Castillo Volquez, 36, was ambushed in Tottenham last January, being stabbed 22 times with a machete and a "Rambo" knife.Gregory, originally from the Dominican Republic, did not know the three men who carried out the violent attack, and the motive of the attack still remains unclear. Gregory Catillo VolquezMet PoliceTwo of his killers, Carlos Akum Metumbe, 22, and Luiggi Perelli Santana, 22, fled to Spain, but they were extradited and convicted of murder alongside Benito Ramirez Kones, 20, earlier this month.All three men were in the UK illegally.Gregory’s partner, Teresa said: “We have a daughter, a little girl, who misses her dad. She asks for him, she still expects to see him coming back. She needs his hugs, his words, and his presence. It is very painful to see a little girl suffering the absence of her father and how she tries to understand why he is not with us. They robbed her of the opportunity to grow up beside him, to share her birthdays, graduations and all the important moments of her life.Benito Ramirez Kones (L), Carlos Akum Metumbe (TR) and Luiggi Perelli Santana (BR)Met Police“This tragedy not only destroyed our lives, but also broke the heart of a mother, who lost her only son. There are no words that can describe the suffering of this mother who had to say goodbye to her son in such a cruel and unjust way. Our family has been marked forever.”