National Police officers arrested 31 young people linked to organized violent youth groups, with 18 associated with the Dominican Playing (DDP) and the remaining with the Trinitarios, two of the region’s most active gangs, according to a Madrid Police press release. The operation is described as the culmination of eleven investigations initiated since last July. The youths were involved in multiple assaults across Madrid, where most victims required medical attention.
The detainees include 18 individuals connected either as proven members or through other associations with the two gangs. The authorities recovered a small number of machetes and other edged weapons during the arrests.
With machetes on a bus
One clarified incident involved a 22-year-old man who was approached at around 3:00 a.m. on October 12. Four assailants exited a bus brandishing machetes and attacked him, causing serious injuries and stealing his waist bag and personal belongings.
Days later, investigators arrested four suspects linked to these events, including two minors affiliated with the DDP gang.
Aggression in Bicimad
Another confrontation resolved by the police occurred around midnight on July 31 when an 18-year-old Colombian man was assaulted by three teenagers who stopped their Bicimad bicycles at the Cuatro Caminos intersection on Santa Engracia street. The attack involved stabbing the victim in the back and shoulder area, though vital organs were not penetrated.
The victim remained conscious and was treated on the scene by Samur Civil Protection paramedics before being taken to San Carlos Clinical Hospital for further care. He was hospitalized with a serious but non life-threatening condition.
Two of the three alleged attackers were later identified as minors connected to the Dominik Don’t Play group.
Latest arrests
The most recent operation took place on December 13, resulting in four more arrests for involvement in two attacks dated November 27 and 28.
The first incident occurred on Topete Street around 11 p.m. when a young man was stabbed with a knife and punched in the knee and head. He sought refuge in a nearby bar until medical crews arrived. Investigations confirmed that the two suspects were linked to the DDP gang.
The next day, near 9 p.m., on Fuencarral Street and Corredera Alta de San Pablo, a 16-year-old was assaulted, a scooter was stolen, and knives and a machete injuries were inflicted when he tried to defend himself. Medical teams treated the victim at the scene and then transported him to a clinical hospital with a knife wound to the right arm.
Police and Samur-Civil Protection units monitored the scene and provided care to the injured youth before hospital transfer. The two men alleged to be responsible were later linked to a rival gang. Charges include membership in a criminal organization, attempted murder, assault, and violent robbery.
Cases awaiting resolution
Seven additional operations, not widely reported, occurred in various districts of the capital since July. Some results are still pending. In Jerónima Llorente on the night of December 2, a group of youths stabbed another man twice with a machete; the victim survived and believes the attack was a mistaken targeting by rival youths.
On December 14, two youth assaults were recorded near Empalme and Plaza de Castilla stations amid suspected gang clashes. Separately, a 23-year-old Ecuadorian man was stabbed three times while walking near Méndez Álvaro station; he sustained non life-threatening injuries.
Shortly after 3 a.m. on November 30, another reported incident involved a 20-year-old man struck repeatedly by a pellet gun as he returned home near Plaza Doctor Lozano in the Vallecas neighborhood of Numancia. Police sources provided the details of the incident.
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