Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezeulan gang, has a recorded presence in at least 19 states as of December — up from 16 states last month.
Fox News Digital has noted official reports of Tren de Aragua (TdA) activity in New York, Colorado, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Illinois, California, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Louisiana, Virginia, North Carolina and — most recently — Maryland, North Dakota, Arizona and Utah.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has designated TdA as a Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO), describing it as "a brutal transnational criminal street gang from Venezuela."
DHS told Fox News Digital that everyone processed by the agency at the border goes through rigorous national security and public safety vetting, and anyone identified as a possible threat is denied admission, detained, removed or referred to other federal agencies for further investigation or prosecution as appropriate. DHS further implemented enhanced screening measures at the border to identify known or suspected gang members, including TdA members.
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Republican Texas Rep. Troy Nehls told Fox News Digital in a statement that "[t]he Biden administration’s so-called border security policies have allowed millions of illegal aliens to cross our nation’s borders, including bad hombres who are members of the violent Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua."
"For over two years now, I have warned the Biden Administration about violent criminals from Venezuela entering our country. Unfortunately, Tren de Aragua’s presence has spread to nearly 20 states, including the great state of Texas," Nehls said.
A string of recent incidents across the United States highlights the threat TdA members pose to public safety in urban and suburban areas alike.
On Friday, New York Police Department officials conducted a large-scale bust at multiple locations between Brooklyn and the Bronx that led to the arrests of nearly two dozen men with suspected ties to the gang.
NYPD officers on Dec. 5 raided a building in the Bronx, located right next to a daycare, that the gang members were using as a hideout, as part of the large-scale bust, as The New York Post first reported.
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Earlier this week, authorities in Aurora, Colorado, arrested 14 people with gang ties — possibly TdA ties — after receiving a call reporting an armed home invasion at an apartment complex in which victims were kidnapped and assaulted.
Aurora Police Department Chief Todd Chamberlain said during a Tuesday news conference that the arrests were "without question a gang incident."
"I don't know which gang they are affiliated with yet," Chamberlain said, adding that "there is a high assumption that they may be affiliated with the TdA [Tren de Aragua] gang," but he stopped short of declaring which gang in particular was involved, because he could not be certain at this time.
A previous incident at the same apartment complex, involving TdA members pounding on doors and brandishing weapons, gained national attention earlier this year.
On Dec. 3, international and local law enforcement arrested a criminal suspect whom they described as "a high-ranking Tren de Aragua fugitive from Venezuela with a history of violent crimes, including human trafficking, robbery, terrorism, weapons offenses, and escape" in Tennessee.
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INTERPOL Washington arrested the suspect in Memphis on Nov. 19.
"Tren de Aragua has emerged as a significant threat to the United States as it infiltrates migration flows from Venezuela," INTERPOL Washington Acting Director Jeffrey A. Grimming said in a Dec. 3 statement. "INTERPOL Washington will continue to provide critical intelligence to our police partners across the continent to strengthen border and national security, ensuring these violent gang members find no safe harbor in our country."
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Last week, Maryland's ICE Director Matthew Elliston warned that TdA members are making their way to Baltimore.
The gang has made national headlines this year, with incidents ranging from the Aurora apartment complex debacle, a TdA member breaking into a Manhattan prosecutor's residence in November, and Augusta University student Laken Riley's February murder, as the brother of the suspect in her killing was affiliated with TdA.
"[E]arlier this summer, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) warned local law enforcement across the country that a Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua, or TdA, gave its members a ‘green light’ to attack and fire upon U.S. law enforcement," House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology Chairman Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., said during a hearing earlier this month.
TdA apparently originated from inside a Venezuelan prison.
While the gang's presence is known in the aforementioned 19 states, TdA could have a presence in additional states that have not been widely reported.
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Canyon County, Idaho Sheriff Kieran Donahue told a reporter in September that he had received intelligence "regarding TdA traveling across Idaho to commit crimes."
"Thankfully, to my knowledge, there have been no confirmed reports of TdA activity in Canyon County or elsewhere in the Treasure Valley. That said, I believe that TdA is a very dangerous gang, and national reports show they are growing rapidly, so it stands to reason we will eventually see them in Idaho," Donahue said.
Rep. Nehls said in his statement to Fox News Digital that Americans "definitely have a right to be concerned about Tren de Aragua’s growing presence in our country."
"The sad reality is the Biden Administration knows that violent criminals are coming into our country; they just don’t care. And that’s exactly why the American people voted overwhelmingly to send President Trump back to the White House," Nehls said. "I look forward to working with President Trump, Tom Homan, and Kristi Noem to secure our borders and make America safe again."
Individuals confirmed or suspected to be gang members are required to be referred for criminal prosecution or placed into Expedited Removal and detained, according to DHS. Federal officials are working with law enforcement to crack down on TdA and enhance public safety, the department said.
