Despite the liberal media's attempt to downplay the presence of Tren de Aragua in the United States, Homeland Security has a new warning for Americans: The Venezuelan criminal organization has a presence in at least 16 states, and members are becoming increasingly violent.
According to an internal department intelligence memo obtained by the New York Post, their reach has expanded to Virginia, Montana, Wyoming, and Washington D.C. The gang already had a presence in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
According to the Post, the memo stated, "As the population of Venezuelan nationals continues to increase, the potential for violent TdA migrants is highly probable." There has also been an increase in "lower-level fraud and theft schemes" because they are sending money "back to South America as a means of financing additional criminal enterprises." The memo even suggested that the arrival of the gang in certain areas coincided with "increases in migrant populations," particularly in D.C. and its Virginia suburbs. The ease of using transportation in the area was also cited as a reason.
Back in July, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Tren de Aragua as a transnational criminal organization. In a press release, the department stated:
From its origins as a prison gang in Aragua, Venezuela, Tren de Aragua has quickly expanded throughout the Western Hemisphere in recent years. With a particular focus on human smuggling and other illicit acts that target desperate migrants, the organization has developed additional revenue sources through a range of criminal activities, such as illegal mining, kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, and the trafficking of illicit drugs such as cocaine and MDMA.
Tren de Aragua poses a deadly criminal threat across the region. For example, Tren de Aragua leverages its transnational networks to traffic people, especially migrant women and girls, across borders for sex trafficking and debt bondage. When victims seek to escape this exploitation, Tren de Aragua members often kill them and publicize their deaths as a threat to others.
The criminal organization became more notable in the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election, and President Donald Trump even brought it up during the September presidential debate. Some news outlets were reporting stories of gang members taking over apartment buildings inside the U.S. in places like Aurora, Colo., and forcing families out of their homes, while others, along with some politicians, have tried to downplay the situation. Case in point, ABC's Martha Raddatz who, during an interview with Vice President-elect JD Vance suggested that "the incidents were limited to a handful of apartments."
Vance responded, "Do you hear yourself? Only a handful of apartment complexes in America were taken over by Venezuelan gangs..."
DJ Vance HUMILIATING ABC’s Martha Raddatz is pure GOLD 🔥🔥🔥
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) October 13, 2024
RADDATZ: "The incidents were limited to a handful of apartments."
VANCE: "Do you hear yourself? Only a handful of apartment complexes were taken over by Venezuelan gangs and Trump is the problem and not Kamala's open… pic.twitter.com/wMTO56IpUd
Apartment buildings aren't the only things these gang members are going after; they're also going after children in the U.S. Last month, Fox News reported that a member of Tren de Aragua was arrested for attempting to recruit new members at a Houston middle school.
So what does Homeland Security plan to do about this growing threat within our border? Well, it can probably start by not willingly letting them into the country. While you may think that these criminals are crossing the border unmonitored, the Washington Times reported last month that "The Department of Homeland Security greenlighted refugee applications for Venezuelan gang members after immigration officers failed to spot their gang tattoos."
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