A violent prison gang called “Tren de Aragua,” which originates from Aragua, Venezuela, is infiltrating the United States, according to U.S. authorities.
In July, the Treasury Department sanctioned TDA as a transnational criminal organization, saying the group was involved in a range of crimes, from human trafficking to kidnapping, extortion, money laundering and illegal drug trafficking, and posed a “deadly criminal threat” throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas, in a phone interview with Fox News Digital, described TDA as “MS-13 on steroids” and said its members have been traveling to the US for several years.
“They are extremely aggressive. They’re not a passive group, they’re not a group that wants to go quietly,” Gonzalez said. “They come from Venezuela, one of the most war-torn countries in the last decade, so they’re used to fighting in many ways, and they’ve come a long way from there to here. But they’re also becoming more organized and more emboldened.”
Bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang “Tren de Aragua” establishes base in US as border authorities alarm bells
In October 2023, Peruvian police arrested the leader of a faction of the Venezuelan-born crime group Tren de Aragua, along with 31 others. (Chris Baroncle/AFP via Getty Images)
Gonzalez said TDA members are organized in states, making them difficult to track, and difficult to deport because Venezuela won’t allow them back into the country.
According to data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), more than 335,000 Venezuelan migrants were encountered at the border in fiscal year 2023, yet only 834 Venezuelans were deported.
The Biden administration began deporting illegal immigrants from Venezuela directly to the socialist dictatorship in October 2023 in an effort to stem the flow of people to the border.
Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua gives members permission to attack police: officials
But Venezuela stopped accepting those flights in January after the United States reimposed economic sanctions it had previously lifted.
“The authorities basically released these people and said, ‘You can now travel one way to the United States,'” Gonzalez said.
The compilation shows suspected Tren de Aragua members and the southern border. (Fox News/Border Patrol)
In one recent example of violence, TDA members were involved in a jewelry robbery in Denver, Colorado on June 24, in which multiple suspects posing as customers suddenly pulled guns and pistol-whipped two women inside the jewelry store. According to FOX 31 Denver.
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The Albuquerque Police Department in New Mexico recently informed police officials of a July bulletin from the Colorado Intelligence and Analytical Center, warning police about reports that TDA members in Denver were “given the green light to shoot or attack police.”
According to FOX 31 Denver, TDA members were involved in a jewelry robbery that took place in Denver, Colorado on June 24, when multiple suspects posing as customers suddenly pulled guns and pistol-whipped two women inside the jewelry store. (HSI El Paso)
As Fox News previously reported, Diego Ibarra, the brother of Laken Riley murder suspect Jose Ibarra, also has ties to the gang. The Ibarra brothers, along with a third brother, traveled to the US from Texas and ended up in the college town of Athens, Georgia, where they were living illegally.
The gang has been linked to dozens of robberies across all five boroughs of New York City. 2 TDA members He is accused of assaulting two NYPD officers in Times Square in January.
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Images taken from federal court documents include photos of Diego Ibarra’s alleged fake green card and what prosecutors say is evidence of his alleged ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. (Middle District of Georgia)
“Many people are fleeing economic persecution and seeking opportunity,” Gonzalez said. “But among them are [criminals] These are people who want to harm you. Don’t think for a second that it won’t happen to you because of where you live or because you’ve never met someone from Venezuela. It doesn’t matter.”
According to ICE, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has a National Gang Unit that works with federal, state, local and international law enforcement partners to identify violent street gangs and arrest, prosecute, detain or remove members who cross borders. The agency also provides assistance to Homeland Security Investigations’ domestic and international field offices to enhance gang investigations.
“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to investigating, disrupting and dismantling international gangs and is prioritizing our work to combat the emerging threats associated with them,” an ICE spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “HSI is aware of recent violent crimes and arrests involving individuals allegedly associated with the Tren de Aragua gang and continues to evaluate emerging trends and assist our law enforcement partners.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (Gabby Ola/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Illegal immigrants who are involved in gang activity in their home countries and who are identified during routine immigration enforcement operations are prioritized for arrest, detention, and deportation.
The FBI has warned that TDA members may join forces with the more notorious MS-13 in an attempt to expand their influence within the US.
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“The TDA uses its international networks to traffic people, particularly migrant women and girls, across borders and subject them to sex trafficking and debt bondage,” the Treasury Department said in a July press release. “When victims attempt to escape this exploitation, Tren de Aragua members often kill them and publicize their deaths as a threat to others.”
Anyone with information about gang activity can make an anonymous report to ICE by calling the HSI tip line at 877-4-HSI-TIP.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
