An internal memo has warned Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials that the notorious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) has extended its operations to at least 16 states and Washington, D.C.
The memo notes that TdA's reach now spans California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Washington, D.C.
This expansion coincides with a rise in violent crime and criminal schemes attributed to the gang, with the memo warning that the gang's "violent tendencies" have only increased. Additionally, the memo revealed that TdA members are increasingly involved in theft, fraud and human trafficking to send stolen funds back to Venezuela to bolster their criminal enterprises.
For instance, in Fairfax County, Virginia, cops arrested three suspected TdA members with gang tattoos and a fake Venezuelan ID for shoplifting in August 2023. The gang also targeted the D.C. metropolitan area for theft, robbery and fraud "because they can travel with ease to nearby suburbs in northern Virginia."
This was also the case in Florida wherein a suspected TdA gang member reportedly defrauded a Florida bank of $118,000 and wired the money overseas before being detected.
In other incidents, a suspected TdA affiliate was arrested by law enforcement in Wyoming for possessing a stolen car. In New York, TdA members had been involved in shootings of police officers, assaults, robberies and gun smuggling into migrant shelters. The gang was also implicated in a sex trafficking operation targeting migrant women in Queens. (Related: Four apartment complexes in Texas seized by "evil" Tren de Aragua super gang from Venezuela.)
Beyond major sanctuary states and cities, TdA has expanded into unexpected areas including Tennessee. According to authorities, the gang operates human trafficking rings in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga, alongside organized retail theft and drug trade activities, often clashing violently with cartels.
"This gang has exploited [the border]. They go from human trafficking to organized retail crime theft, and then they move into the drug trade, taking on the cartels in very violent, bloody battles that they've had," Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch told "Fox & Friends" in an interview on Nov. 15.
TdA expansion is the result of Biden administration's lax policies
The TdA is believed to have entered the United States in 2022. Now, the TdA has expanded its illegal activities thanks to the lax migrant enforcement policies of the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden.
The situation is further complicated by strained relations between Biden and President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, who has refused to accept deportation flights that would return Venezuelans from the U.S. to their home country.
"This is the consequence of President Biden, Vice President Harris and now-impeached DHS Secretary Mayorkas' destructive open-borders policies," House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green (R-TN) said in a press release.
Head over to Violence.news for similar stories about migrant criminals.
Watch this clip of Oscar "El Blue" Ramirez being ambushed and mugged by MS-13 members while reporting.
This video is from the SecureLife channel on Brighteon.com.
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