BOSTON — Janoy Batista pleaded guilty on Oct. 7 to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity and drug conspiracy.

Batista admitted during the plea hearing that he was an associate of the Trinitarios gang and supplied the gang with drugs from Cartel Jalisco Nuevo Generacion (CJNG). He acknowledged that CJNG shipped large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl to him in Lynn, Mass., utilizing car transport trucks, which he then distributed to members of the Trinitarios.

Batista admitted that in November 2023, CJNG tasked him with killing a local drug contact who the cartel believed had stolen a large quantity of drugs, indicating that he would be required to commit the murder to continue receiving shipments. In November 2023, Batista organized a failed murder attempt of the drug contact utilizing a Trinitarios member’s vehicle.

During the incident in Salem, Mass., two shooters opened fire on the drug contact as he sat in his driveway, striking him multiple times. Batista picked up the shooters and driver involved in the attempted murder and drove them to an apartment controlled by the Trinitarios. The drug contact survived the incident.

U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Jan. 7, 2027. The charge of conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Batista was arrested and charged in February 2025 with other leaders, members, and associates of the Trinitarios. That month, federal racketeering charges were unsealed against 22 leaders and members of the gang. On June 9, 2026, additional federal racketeering and drug charges were unsealed charging 26 additional leaders, members, and associates of the Lawrence, Haverhill, and Boston Chapters of the gang.

The charges were the result of a multijurisdictional investigation which began after four murders as well as a series of attempted murders and shootings that took place in Lynn in 2023. During the investigation into the gang's operations, over 600 grams of fentanyl and 200 grams of cocaine, along with firearms and drug paraphernalia, were seized from a Trinitarios stash house in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. According to court documents, the Trinitarios have allegedly participated in five additional murders in Essex County since 2017. Primary source: justice.gov

Why It Matters

The Trinitarios is a violent criminal enterprise comprised of thousands of members across the United States that adheres to a Magna Carta, employs an internal hierarchy to coordinate and execute violence, and undertakes extensive efforts to maintain the secrecy of the organization and its members. This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker; Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble; and Lynn Police Chief Christopher P. Reddy made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.