Guilty Plea in Major Racketeering Case Involving Trinitarios

Janoy Batista, also known as 'El Viejo,' has pleaded guilty to racketeering and drug charges in a case involving the Trinitarios gang and a Mexican drug cartel. Batista, 47, entered his plea on October 7, 2026, before U. S.

Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton. His sentencing is scheduled for January 7, 2027, according to the U.

S. Attorney's Office.

Batista was arrested in February 2025 alongside other leaders and associates of the Trinitarios, a violent criminal enterprise with thousands of members across the United States. The charges against Batista stem from his role in supplying the gang with drugs from the Cartel Jalisco Nuevo Generacion (CJNG). The CJNG shipped large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl to Batista in Lynn, Massachusetts, which he then distributed to the gang.

In November 2023, Batista organized an attempted murder in Salem, Massachusetts, on behalf of the CJNG. The cartel had tasked him with killing a local drug contact suspected of stealing a large quantity of drugs. During the attempt, two shooters opened fire on the target, striking him multiple times, but the victim survived. Batista later picked up the shooters and transported them to a Trinitarios-controlled apartment.

The racketeering charges against Batista and others were the result of a multijurisdictional investigation into the Trinitarios' criminal activities, which included four murders and several attempted murders in Lynn in 2023. Additional charges were unsealed in June 2026 against 26 more leaders and associates of the gang from various chapters, including Lawrence, Haverhill, and Boston.

The Trinitarios have allegedly been involved in five additional murders in Essex County since 2017, bringing the total number of federally charged murders involving the gang to 11. The case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, which aims to eliminate criminal cartels and violent crime. The task force is a collaborative effort involving multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, DEA, and local police departments.

The charge of racketeering conspiracy carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are determined by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes.