Venezuelan immigrants moving to Chicago's South Side have attracted the attention of the city's gangs, some of whom worry it could lead to turf wars between local gangs and Venezuelan gangs.
“If the black gangs here get tired of the illegal and criminal activities of immigrants and foreigners, the city of Chicago will be on fire and the blood will spread across the city and the National Guard and the government will be able to do nothing. It will be blacks versus immigrants,” Tyrone Muhammad, a former Chicago gangster who served a 20-year sentence and now runs a violence prevention program, said in a Chicago Times report. New York Post.
The comments come as Chicago is seeing an influx of Venezuelan immigrants, including members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang, according to reports.
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Some Venezuelan gangs have begun to encroach on local gang turf in the city. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)
Local residents told the New York Post that crime has increased with the arrival of Venezuelans, while some Venezuelan gangs have begun encroaching on local gang turf in the city.
“(Immigrant gangs) are so active that no one is even hearing about them,” Chicago gang member Zach Massey told the New York Post. “They're invading our turf, robbing people, but they're not getting arrested like we are. I actually talked to one of the gang members on a translator app, and he told me all about what he's doing, how the gang members helped him get a car, an apartment, an (EBT) card, everything. They're giving them thousands of dollars, and we only get like $400 a month, and they don't even have social security numbers!”
A local gang source in Chicago told the New York Post that Venezuelan gang members, who are often heavily armed, are beginning to flow into areas traditionally controlled by local gangs.
Lights illuminate the Chicago skyline as seen from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, on May 15, 2022. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Corey Rogers, a local gang member, told the New York Post that Venezuelan gangs are often seen “waving flags,” which is slang for brandishing a gun, and he pointed the Post to a thread in which local gang members threatened turf wars with newer gangs.
“What worries me is that Venezuelans are united,” Rogers said. “Black gangs are too divided, and they're taking each other down.”
Some have expressed concern about a possible increase in violence, telling the New York Post that conditions in the city were actually improving before the influx of migrants.
A sign in Chicago's Lawndale neighborhood is marked with gang graffiti. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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“There's still violence here, but it's a lot calmer,” one gang member told the outlet. “Before, you'd go there and get shot. It's a lot calmer. The last thing we need are Venezuelans.”
Chicago Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
