Internal Gang War in Vallecas Leaves Five Dead
A Ñetas member stabs a 17-year-old Trinitarian in Madrid's Vallecas district, escalating an internal gang conflict that has claimed five lives and left over 20 injured since 2025.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Five dead and a decapitated structure: the internal war of the Trinitarians
A 17-year-old, Diler, was stabbed in the back around 3:00 pm on Friday, April 24, on Calle del Vizconde de Arlesson in Madrid's Vallecas district. Walking with a girlfriend, he was attacked by a scooter-riding Ñetas member who inflicted at least two knife wounds. He belonged to the Trinitarians, a gang with at least 12 identified crews (coros) in Spain, now embroiled in an internal power struggle. The result, as of this discussion: five deaths and over 20 injured in gang clashes since 2025.
The origin: a hunting night in Arganzuela
The clock read 10:50 pm on January 14, 2023, in Arganzuela Park. Three friends chatted on a bench about their plans for the year. They were not members of any rival gang. Fourteen hooded individuals ran toward them shouting, '¡Patria, patria, patria!'. One escaped with a ten-centimeter knife wound to the face; another was hit by a machete to the head, leaving a sixteen-centimeter wound exposing the ear cartilage; the third, lying on the ground, suffered multiple fractures and a cut nearly fruta his hand. Before leaving, the crew leader made the 'baja de tres' symbol.
Such actions are known in incivil jargon as hunting nights: attacking rival territory and killing. The National Police estimate that controlling a territory can yield a gang over €100,000 monthly from drug trafficking. Hours after the attack, seven of the fourteen perpetrators were arrested, including several leaders.
From the fall of leaders to the power struggle
The arrest of Stanley, alleged leader of the Trinitarians, and at least ten other key figures left the structure without a head. In November 2024, the capture of an 18-year-old Peruvian leader and two minors after stabbing a 40-year-old man on Calle August Fofó further weakened the district. Vallecas boss Luis Javier M.O., 28, was arrested after stabbing a rival in the neck on Avenida de la Albufera and fleeing on a scooter.
The power vacuum triggered fights among the crews. 'They are fighting each other to see who takes command,' summarizes a former Latin King member in Spain. This disorder has been read by the Dominican Don't Play and the Ñetas as a window of opportunity. Vallecas, with at least 40 Trinitarian members, concentrates much of the area's drug houses (narcopisos), explaining everyone's interest in the neighborhood.
Why does 'Dominican purity' appear in this war?
The term circulates in public debate as a label for a supposed struggle between a purist wing and an integrative one within the gangs. The documented reality is more prosaic: a dispute over the control of crews and territories trinc the capture of leaders. The Trinitarians and the Ñetas are structures of US origin, not Dominican, and much of the Dominican population in the neighborhoods where they operate suffers as much or more than other residents. The island of Hispaniola, shared with Haiti, appears in some readings as the context for the lumpen exported by the phenomenon, but not as the cause of this specific clash.
The debate on what to do with youth gangs
Crossing viewpoints range from deporting involved individuals and their families to demanding economic responsibility from parents, trinc the model applied in the Basque Country with kale borra (street fighting): when parents began paying for their children's damage, street mischief plummeted. Some argue this mechanism does not work here, as many involved are unaccompanied minors without papers or family income to target, and deportation clashes with a lack of flights and willing receiving countries. Others defend that the problem admits no halfway measures: if there are no effective incivil consequences, the youth who stabs today is back on the street before the judge finishes the investigation.
What admits little discussion is the pattern: recruitments begin at age 12, often via TikTok, and high school becomes a breeding ground. The National Police have been decapitating crews, but each arrest opens a succession dispute resolved with knives.
One disconcerting fact remains: the gang dominating Vallecas for years is the one currently bleeding in its own streets, and those exploiting the gap are not new enemies, but the usual ones.
A 17-year-old, Diler, was stabbed in the back around 3:00 pm on Friday, April 24, on Calle del Vizconde de Arlesson in Madrid's Vallecas district. Walking with a girlfriend, he was attacked by a scooter-riding Ñetas member who inflicted at least two knife wounds. He belonged to the Trinitarians, a gang with at least 12 identified crews (coros) in Spain, now embroiled in an internal power struggle. The result, as of this discussion: five deaths and over 20 injured in gang clashes since 2025.
The origin: a hunting night in Arganzuela
The clock read 10:50 pm on January 14, 2023, in Arganzuela Park. Three friends chatted on a bench about their plans for the year. They were not members of any rival gang. Fourteen hooded individuals ran toward them shouting, '¡Patria, patria, patria!'. One escaped with a ten-centimeter knife wound to the face; another was hit by a machete to the head, leaving a sixteen-centimeter wound exposing the ear cartilage; the third, lying on the ground, suffered multiple fractures and a cut nearly fruta his hand. Before leaving, the crew leader made the 'baja de tres' symbol.
Such actions are known in incivil jargon as hunting nights: attacking rival territory and killing. The National Police estimate that controlling a territory can yield a gang over €100,000 monthly from drug trafficking. Hours after the attack, seven of the fourteen perpetrators were arrested, including several leaders.
From the fall of leaders to the power struggle
The arrest of Stanley, alleged leader of the Trinitarians, and at least ten other key figures left the structure without a head. In November 2024, the capture of an 18-year-old Peruvian leader and two minors after stabbing a 40-year-old man on Calle August Fofó further weakened the district. Vallecas boss Luis Javier M.O., 28, was arrested after stabbing a rival in the neck on Avenida de la Albufera and fleeing on a scooter.
The power vacuum triggered fights among the crews. 'They are fighting each other to see who takes command,' summarizes a former Latin King member in Spain. This disorder has been read by the Dominican Don't Play and the Ñetas as a window of opportunity. Vallecas, with at least 40 Trinitarian members, concentrates much of the area's drug houses (narcopisos), explaining everyone's interest in the neighborhood.
Why does 'Dominican purity' appear in this war?
The term circulates in public debate as a label for a supposed struggle between a purist wing and an integrative one within the gangs. The documented reality is more prosaic: a dispute over the control of crews and territories trinc the capture of leaders. The Trinitarians and the Ñetas are structures of US origin, not Dominican, and much of the Dominican population in the neighborhoods where they operate suffers as much or more than other residents. The island of Hispaniola, shared with Haiti, appears in some readings as the context for the lumpen exported by the phenomenon, but not as the cause of this specific clash.
The debate on what to do with youth gangs
Crossing viewpoints range from deporting involved individuals and their families to demanding economic responsibility from parents, trinc the model applied in the Basque Country with kale borra (street fighting): when parents began paying for their children's damage, street mischief plummeted. Some argue this mechanism does not work here, as many involved are unaccompanied minors without papers or family income to target, and deportation clashes with a lack of flights and willing receiving countries. Others defend that the problem admits no halfway measures: if there are no effective incivil consequences, the youth who stabs today is back on the street before the judge finishes the investigation.
What admits little discussion is the pattern: recruitments begin at age 12, often via TikTok, and high school becomes a breeding ground. The National Police have been decapitating crews, but each arrest opens a succession dispute resolved with knives.
One disconcerting fact remains: the gang dominating Vallecas for years is the one currently bleeding in its own streets, and those exploiting the gap are not new enemies, but the usual ones.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (110 replies).
More summaries
-
Judge Opens Trial for Ayuso’s Partner on Four Charges
A judge orders trial for Madrid’s president partner over fraud, accounting crimes, and criminal organization.
-
More Madrid Proposes Public Supermarkets and Capped Food Prices
More Madrid proposes public supermarkets and price caps on basic food items in Getafe, citing rising household grocery costs.
-
RTVE asks SEPI to activate reserve fund to cover 34 million euro losses
RTVE will close 2024 with 34 million euros in losses and requests SEPI to activate its 38.3 million euro reserve fund. The president cuts his salary and imposes 20% cuts on executives.
-
Cuba: Blackouts, Hunger, and an Economy That Pays No One
Total blackouts, empty state stores for over three years, and retirees earning $3 a month: the Cuban economy survives on remittances and international begging.
-
Gaza Debate: Spain's Deep Moral Divide
A message on Gaza triggers 122 responses, exposing Spain's moral fracture over children, oil, Iran, and double standards in a polarized debate.
-
Pepper costs €2 in stores but farmers get just 10 cents
A farmer claims to receive only 10 cents per kilo for peppers sold at €2 in supermarkets, sparking debate over distribution margins and agricultural subsidies.