A notorious Venezuelan prison gang has established a presence in at least 16 US states, accounting for nearly half the country’s population, according to a recent internal intelligence memo from Homeland Security.
As The New York Post reports, the memo highlights Tren de Aragua’s (TDA’s) growing hold in various parts of the country, most recently in Washington, DC, Virginia, Montana and Wyoming. The group is also reportedly active in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
As the gang has spread, its “violent tendencies” have reportedly increased, raising concerns among law enforcement agencies. The Homeland Security memo pointed to a connection between the arrival of TDA members in new areas and the increase in local migrant populations, warning that “the potential for violent TDA migrants is highly probable.”
In August 2023, three men were taken into custody for shoplifting in Fairfax County, Virginia after a shootout with suspected TDA members. All three suspects had gang-related tattoos, and one had a fake Venezuelan ID.
The DC area is seen as a strategic base for the gang, which reportedly uses its proximity to Virginia’s suburbs to engage in burglaries, robberies and assaults. Homeland Security has also observed an increase in “low-level fraud and theft schemes”, with stolen funds being repatriated to South America to finance further criminal activities.
In one case, a suspected TDA member in Florida withdrew $118,000 from a bank account using fraudulent check deposits, transferring the funds to Venezuela before the fraud was discovered.
In Wyoming, where the gang’s presence has been relatively limited, Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak revealed the arrest of a suspected TDA member.
Members of the Tren de Aragua are believed to have crossed into the US amid a massive wave of migrants crossing the southern border during the Joe Biden administration. According to US Border Patrol sources, a lack of information-sharing between the US and Venezuela is hindering the detection of gang members, which could have made their release in the country possible, the New York Post reports.
Efforts to deport Venezuelan citizens face significant obstacles due to strained relations between Washington and the Venezuelan government, which has refused to accept deportation flights.
Reports of TDA activities range from violent crimes to sophisticated smuggling networks. In New York, the gang has been linked to shootings at migrant shelters, robberies and gun smuggling. Members are also allegedly involved in sex trafficking, particularly on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens.
Tennessee has also emerged as a hotspot for gang operations, with reports of human trafficking rings and retail crime theft in cities such as Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga.
The growing influence of Tren de Aragua has attracted the attention of political leaders. US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to prioritize cracking down on the gangs, promising a historic mass deportation effort involving both Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the US military.
