The violent Venezuelan gang Torren de Aragua has infiltrated every major city in Tennessee, state officials say.
The TDA has been implicated in criminal activity across the country, including an apartment takeover in Aurora, Colorado. violent crime Located in New York City and Dallas, Texas. So far, the gang has focused primarily, but not exclusively, on expanding its presence in sanctuary jurisdictions, where local law enforcement is prohibited from cooperating with federal immigration officials. It's here.
“They will not hesitate to attack their enemies in public or in broad daylight.”
inside budget meeting This week, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch warned Gov. Bill Lee (R) of the recent increase in TDA threats in the state.
The gang began appearing in Tennessee two years ago, but its influence has expanded significantly in recent months, Rausch said. He noted that TDA operates in Memphis and Nashville.
“We first saw them a few years ago, when we discovered a group here on a human trafficking operation,” Rausch explained. “Many of our members here recognized the trafficking of women who were abducted from Venezuela and brought here.”
The department was successful in arresting several people involved in the illegal operation, but “many of them” fled Tennessee, Rausch said.
“What we're seeing now is they're coming back. They're coming back to all of our major cities,” he declared.
When the TDA arrives in a new area, it first begins human trafficking operations and then expands to other criminal activities such as organized retail theft and drug trafficking, Rausch told Lee.
He expressed concern about the TDA's brazenness and targeting of cartel members.
“They will, and they are going head-on with the cartels, and their efforts will be very violent,” Rausch continued. “They will not hesitate to attack their enemies in public and in broad daylight.”
“Recently there was a video of them shooting an individual who is a member of a cartel 31 times. It was captured on video in broad daylight and posted on social media,” he said.
Rausch declined to say how many TDA gang members he believes there are in the state, but said, “There are a lot of them here.”
According to straight arrow newsThe Knoxville Police Department is not aware of any TDA activity in the area.
The Department of Homeland Security has identified more than 600 people in the United States with ties to the TDA, Blaze News previously reported. The federal government has confirmed gang activity in at least 15 states, with possible expansion to eight more states.
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