Gang linked to three London murders

Los Trinitarios, a gang founded in 1993, has been linked to three murders that occurred in London during 2025. The gang, which traditionally operates in the United States, Central and South America, and Spain, is also understood to be active within Spanish-speaking communities in the Elephant and Castle area of south London.

Victims and Convictions

One victim, 17-year-old Yeray Sanchez Morales, was stabbed nine times in the neck and chest in August 2025. The attack, which occurred outside a McDonald's on Old Kent Road, also injured his 17-year-old friend. Seven individuals, aged between 15 and 20 at the time of the incident, have since been sentenced. Andres Tapia Londono and Christhofer Jesus Vasquez, both 17 at the time, received four-year youth custody sentences for manslaughter, as reported by The Standard.

Giovanny Rendon Bedoya, 21, suffered severe injuries, including the severing of three finger tips and wounds to his eyes, body, and legs, during a machete attack in Walworth in April 2025. One of his attackers, 22-year-old Christian Batista Gonzalez, was arrested in Barcelona while attempting to return to the Dominican Republic. He was extradited to the UK and, along with four other men, received a combined sentence of 107 years in May for the murder. The Spanish authorities stated Gonzalez was wanted in the UK for the violent assault on another young man from a rival gang.

In January 2025, Gregory Castillo Volquez, 36, was ambushed in Tottenham and stabbed 22 times with a machete and a knife. The motive for this attack remains unclear, and Castillo Volquez did not know his assailants. Two of the men convicted of his murder, Carlos Akum Metumbe, 22, and Luiggi Perelli Santana, 22, fled to Spain but were extradited and convicted alongside Benito Ramirez Kones, 20. All three were in the UK illegally.

Gang Operations

Los Trinitarios, founded by Leonides Sierra and Julio Marine in a New York jail, is known for its internal hierarchy used to organise violence and maintain secrecy, according to the US attorney's office for Massachusetts. The gang has been a focus for law enforcement agencies in the US, with 26 individuals charged in Boston in June for racketeering conspiracy offences, including murders and attempted murders. The Spanish interior ministry has described the group as one of the most active and violent youth groups nationwide, with branches in several European countries where they engage in drug trafficking, document forgery, and scams.

The gang is also known for recruiting children and placing them in neighbourhood groups called 'coros', as reported by The Times.