Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua linked to human trafficking

The Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is operating human trafficking operations in Tennessee and authorities count on their crimes to worsen.

Members of the Venezuelan legal gang have been noticed all through the US, together with in Colorado and Texas. The transnational legal group traces its origins to a jail within the Venezuelan state of Aragua. 

In response to an inquiry from The Christian Put up, a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) spokesperson mentioned the state bureau has joined a number of legislation enforcement businesses throughout the nation in elevating the alarm about Tren de Aragua. The earliest crime TBI has linked the gang to is a 2023 human trafficking case. 

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“At this time, intelligence suggests the gang is predominantly still involved in fostering human trafficking in Tennessee, but the known track record of the gang’s involvement in theft and drug crimes elsewhere continues to inform our concerted efforts to better understand and more consistently identify Tennessee crimes that may be connected to TdA,” the spokesperson acknowledged. 

Whereas tattoos have been some of the dependable methods to determine gang members, the spokesperson advised CP that latest intelligence suggests Tren de Aragua may be much less reliant on tattoos, making them more durable to determine. 

“Instead, the TBI would remind the general public of the warning signs of human trafficking itself,” the spokesperson added. 

The assertion from TBI was in response to a Tuesday finances assembly with Republican Gov. Invoice Lee. On the assembly, TBI Director David Rausch acknowledged that the gang is “ever-present in our country and in Tennessee,” the Nashville-based WSMV reported. Rausch added that TBI first grew to become conscious of the gang two years in the past throughout a human trafficking investigation. 

Members of Tren de Aragua had kidnapped Venezuelan ladies and trafficked them within the U.S., however by means of its operation two years in the past, TBI captured a number of gang members whereas others fled the state, in accordance with Rausch. 

“Now, what we are seeing is they are back. They are back in all of our major cities,” he warned. “They are running human trafficking operations. That’s where they start, but now, we have learned by talking with our peers throughout the country that they have a pathway to more violence.”

Along with human trafficking, Rausch mentioned that the gang engages in retail theft, which generally entails utilizing people they illegally introduced into the U.S. to shoplift. 

“The next step they move into is the drug trade,” Rausch continued. “They will, and they have taken on the cartel head-on. They are very violent in their efforts.”

“Recently, there was a video that they shot, where they shot a cartel member 31 times in broad daylight on video and posted it to social media,” he added. “That’s the type of organization they are.”

The gang grew to become a serious speaking level throughout this yr’s presidential election following stories of Tren de Aragua partaking in legal actions throughout the US. Republicans, together with former President-elect Donald Trump, mentioned members of the gang have infiltrated the nation due to the Biden-Harris administration’s lax immigration insurance policies. 

“They allowed criminals, many, many millions of criminals, they allowed terrorists, they allowed common street criminals, they allowed people to come in, drug dealers to come into our country,” Trump mentioned throughout the September presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. “They’re now in the United States and told by their countries, like Venezuela, don’t ever come back or we’re going to kill you.”

Tren de Aragua gained notoriety within the U.S. after footage of closely armed males taking on an residence in Aurora, Colorado, went viral on-line. Whereas police within the space claimed a few of the stories had been exaggerated, authorities introduced in September that they had been investigating 10 suspected gang members for his or her involvement in a sequence of crimes. 

“TdA has not ‘taken over’ the city. The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true,” Aurora police claimed in the announcement. “Again, TdA’s presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, all of which the city has been addressing in various ways for months.”

“To date, APD has now linked 10 people to TdA and has arrested eight of those people.” Aurora police added. “Two of the eight individuals who were taken into custody were involved in a July shooting at one of the specific properties in the city that have experienced issues with TdA activity. In line with these arrests, we can also now confirm that criminal activity, including TdA issues, had significantly affected those properties.”