Who is Tren de Aragua? Vicious Venezuelan gang 'following in the path of MS-13' in America

In New York City, children arsenic young arsenic 11 are accused of robbing residents astatine weapon and gunpoint successful gang-related initiation rites. 

Surveillance video from Aurora, Colorado purportedly shows an worker of a absorption institution brutally beaten by a radical of men for refusing to judge a bribe. And successful the borderline authorities of Texas, 2 overseas nationals were arrested past period for their alleged relation successful a conspiracy to illegally transport firearms which were apt to beryllium utilized successful different convulsive crimes.  

The suspects successful these caller transgression acts, dispersed crossed the nation, are connected to a thoroughfare pack from Venezuela, known arsenic Tren de Aragua, oregon TdA. The outfit has grown successful infamy successful the United States aft a spree of heinous crimes that person grabbed nationalist headlines and raised alarm among instrumentality enforcement and policymakers, who pass that Americans are successful information truthful agelong arsenic the pack operates successful the United States. 

"TdA is thing much than a thug-for-hire organization. And that is unsafe to Americans," said Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who has followed the gang's activities closely. Gonzalez represents Texas' 23rd Congressional District, which comprises two-thirds of the Texas border. He has for months sounded the alarm astir Tren de Aragua's increasing power successful borderline communities that are ill-equipped to combat the gang's brutality.

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Still representation from societal media video shows suspected juvenile Tren de Aragua members based retired of the Roosevelt Hotel, who person allegedly been attacking the adjacent Times Square successful a drawstring of robberies. (Obtained by New York Post)

"Tren de Aragua is an invading transgression service from a situation successful Venezuela that has dispersed their brutality and chaos to U.S. cities and tiny towns," Gonzales and different GOP lawmakers wrote to President Biden successful March, requesting that the president designate the pack arsenic a Transnational Criminal Organization. "If near unchecked, they volition unleash an unprecedented reign of terror, mirroring the devastation it has already inflicted successful communities passim Central and South America, astir prominently successful Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru."

Who is Tren de Aragua?

South of the border, Tren de Aragua has built an international transgression empire connected corpses near successful the aftermath of its cause and quality trafficking operations. Its members are said to person committed murders, rapes, extortion, kidnapping and different horrific crimes. Now, authorities warn, the brutal gang's transgression activities are an expanding menace to American communities. 

"They're the worst of the worst," Gonzales told Fox News Digital successful an interview. "They person nary rules oregon codification of ethics." 

Researchers person traced the origins of Tren de Aragua, which translates to "train of Aragua," to the Tocoron situation successful the Aragua authorities successful Venezuela, sometime betwixt 2013 and 2015.  

"Under the Maduro, and earlier him, Chavez regime, 1 of their ideas was to trim incarceration and situation reform, by which they fundamentally meant letting radical retired early. And this truly gave the pack an tremendous benignant of manpower surge," said Simon Hankinson, a elder probe chap astatine the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center. 

These images from a CBP quality bulletin, amusement tattoos and identifiers for Tren De Aragua. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a $5,000 reward for accusation starring to the recognition and apprehension of known oregon suspected TdA members.  (ICE)

One of the founders is Hector Guerrero, who was jailed years agone for sidesplitting a constabulary officer, according to InSight Crime, a deliberation vessel that monitors organized transgression successful the Americas. Guerrero, amended known by his alias El Nino, Spanish for the "boy," aboriginal escaped and past was recaptured successful 2013. He fled situation again much recently, arsenic Venezuela's authorities tried to reassert power implicit its situation population, and is believed to beryllium residing successful Colombia.

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Authorities successful countries specified arsenic Chile, Peru and Colombia — each with ample populations of Venezuelan migrants — person accused the radical of being down a spree of unit successful a portion that has agelong had immoderate of the highest execution rates successful the world. Some of its much sensationalist crimes, including the beheading and burying live of victims, person dispersed panic successful mediocre neighborhoods wherever the pack extorts section businesses and illegally charges residents for "protection."

"With a peculiar absorption connected quality smuggling and different illicit acts that people hopeless migrants, the enactment has developed further gross sources done a scope of transgression activities, specified arsenic amerciable mining, kidnapping, quality trafficking, extortion, and the trafficking of illicit drugs specified arsenic cocaine and MDMA," said John Torres, a erstwhile Special Agent successful Charge for Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) with 27 years acquisition moving with DHS and the Justice Department.

Suspected members of the Venezuela-based transnational pack Tren de Aragua were seen connected surveillance footage shared by the El Paso County Attorney's Office astatine the Gateway Hotel. (KFOX14/El Paso County Attorney's Office)

Torres, who is present president of information and exertion consulting for Guidepost Solutions, a planetary security, compliance and investigations firm, explained successful comments to Fox News Digital that TdA has leveraged its transnational networks to postulation people, particularly migrant women and girls, crossed borders for enactment trafficking and indebtedness bondage. 

"When victims question to flight this exploitation, TdA members often termination them and publicize their deaths arsenic a menace to others," helium said. 

Since its founding much than a decennary ago, TdA has rapidly expanded passim South America. It has laundered funds done cryptocurrency and allied with different gangs, specified arsenic the Brazil-based Primeiro Comando da Capital. 

The gang's activities yet landed connected U.S. instrumentality enforcement radar and successful September 2023, Homeland Security Investigations announced a partnership with the Peruvian government to signifier a Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit (TCIU) successful Peru to ace down connected TdA operations. By then, the TdA enactment had expanded into Colombia, Peru, Chile and different countries. 

Tren de Aragua successful the U.S. 

According to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Tren de Aragua has been operating successful Texas since astatine slightest 2021, erstwhile pack affiliates were arrested for quality trafficking. The politician past period designated TdA arsenic a "foreign violent organization" and launched a statewide cognition to aggressively spell aft the gang. 

At a Sept. 16 property conference, Abbott said much than 3,000 amerciable immigrants from Venezuela person been arrested successful Texas for crimes including quality smuggling, galore with ties to the gang. The politician noted that much than 100 TdA members were arrested astatine the Gateway Hotel successful downtown El Paso, a metropolis officials person called "ground zero" for the gang's activities. The El Paso County Attorney's Office had issued a impermanent and imperishable injunction to unopen down the edifice due to the fact that of "habitual transgression activity" aft 693 constabulary calls were placed astatine the spot successful conscionable 2 years for suspected amerciable and gang-related activity, according to a complaint. 

Abbott's enactment came aft surveillance video went viral showing heavy equipped men kicking down an flat doorway successful Aurora, Colorado. It purportedly showed alleged members of Tren de Aragua who had reportedly taken implicit flat buildings successful the metropolis and were extorting residents for extortion payments. 

TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT DESIGNATES VENEZUELAN GANG, TREN DE ARAGUA, AS A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott connected Monday announced the authorities is going to people a Venezuelan pack that helium said was notorious for brutal unit and execution and posed a menace to Texans’ safety. (X/@GregAbbott_TX)

The video catapulted TdA into the spotlight of the 2024 statesmanlike campaign, with Republican nominee erstwhile President Trump vowing to "liberate Aurora" from amerciable alien criminals helium claimed were "taking implicit the full town." 

Aurora constabulary person called allegations that gangs had "taken over" buildings successful the metropolis an exaggeration, though they person acknowledged the beingness of TdA successful the community.

Four radical with imaginable connections to the pack were aboriginal arrested astatine the Ivy Crossing Apartments successful Aurora connected "a assortment of charges" including drugs and stolen vehicles, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office. Local officials said different 10 confirmed TdA members were arrested connected Sept. 11 connected charges including kid abuse, attempted first-degree murder, amerciable discharge of a firearm, and more.

However, CBZ Management, which operates 11 flat complexes successful Colorado, has claimed that TdA members person commandeered full flat buildings successful Aurora by threatening its employees and tried to extort the institution for a chopped of rent wealth successful speech for their continued cognition of the properties. 

Suspected members of the Venezuela-based transnational pack Tren de Aragua were seen connected surveillance footage partying and drinking to the constituent of vomiting with children present, according to ineligible documents. (KFOX14/El Paso County Attorney's Office)

Video footage released by CBZ Management shows 1 of CBZ's representatives being assaulted aft helium refused to judge a bribe astatine the Whispering Pines Complex astatine the extremity of 2023, the institution told Fox 31. Aurora constabulary told section quality presumption Denver 7 the section has "not yet obtained grounds of a pack takeover astatine immoderate CBZ properties."

"We’ve acknowledged it’s apt pack members person and/or are residing astatine CBZ properties, but arsenic you cognize from acquisition you could accidental the aforesaid astir a batch of antithetic gangs and a batch of antithetic properties passim the metro area," a typical told the outlet. 

Youth gone wild

Meanwhile, Tren de Aragua's beingness has been felt successful cities similar New York and Chicago, wherever the pack is actively recruiting juveniles arsenic young arsenic 11 to perpetrate brazen crimes.

Guardian Angels laminitis Curtis Sliwa told Fox News Digital he's witnessed TdA members congregate astatine the erstwhile Roosevelt Hotel, which the metropolis has converted into a migrant shelter. More than 210,000 migrants person arrived successful the Big Apple since 2022, with the largest stock from Venezuela, arsenic the Biden medication has struggled to negociate an unprecedented question of amerciable migration crossed the confederate border.

Sliwa, who has followed pack enactment successful the metropolis for much than 4 decades, said helium observed TdA members connected the northbound broadside of the edifice who were "scheming, organizing, recruiting" and "pressuring the younger radical to articulation their gang." 

"And if you didn't articulation them, you were against them, conscionable similar successful a jailhouse situation," helium told Fox News Digital. 

JUVENILE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT GANG MEMBERS BEHIND ROBBERY SPREE STAY OUT OF JAIL DUE TO AGE

Still representation from societal media video shows suspected juvenile Tren de Aragua members based retired of the Roosevelt Hotel, who person allegedly been attacking the adjacent Times Square successful a drawstring of robberies. (Obtained by New York Post)

NYPD officials person blamed young Tren de Aragua members for a drawstring of robberies successful Times Square and different landmark locations successful the city. 

"It's shocking to accidental the least, and we've seen a progression with this group," NYPD Detective Bureau Asst. Chief Jason Savino told "Fox & Friends" Tuesday morning.

The suspected pack members person been postioning pictures and videos of their guns online, according to investigators.

"We cognize they person entree to guns, evident by the information that they’ve done gunpoint robberies, and they’ve been brazen capable to showcase pistols successful and astir their societal media," Savino told the New York Post. 

The pack has targeted younker successful different parts of the state arsenic well. U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) said this week that a confirmed TdA member was arrested successful Houston for allegedly recruiting mediate schoolhouse students to go caller pack members. 

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Asylum seekers enactment up successful beforehand of the historical Roosevelt Hotel, converted into a city-run structure for recently arrived migrant families successful New York City. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Sliwa said these "Pee-Wee" criminals person tally roughshod implicit New York City residents without effect from the law. He cited robberies successful Central Park South implicit the summer, saying that young gangsters operating retired of the Watson Hotel connected 57th Street would harass locals. 

"They were coming backmost and forth, robbing, moving backmost to the hotel, yet to beryllium caught, captured and released, and past to bash it each implicit again," helium said. "And present they're a unit to beryllium reckoned with successful Times Square." 

According to Sliwa, these crimes are a rite of transition for these kids to articulation the pack arsenic afloat members. He criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office for failing to support arrested juvenile offenders detained – but successful immoderate cases it is retired of the territory attorney's hands. New York raised the property to prosecute a kid arsenic an big to 18 respective years ago, which officials person said has made it hard to support juvenile offenders disconnected the streets.

"We volition proceed to enactment manus successful manus with our instrumentality enforcement partners to thrust down transgression successful Manhattan, which has decreased 6% this year," a spokesperson for Bragg's bureau said.

Sliwa, who unsuccessfully ran for politician successful 2021, losing to incumbent Eric Adams, said helium intends to tally for politician again and would marque cracking down connected organized transgression a precedence for metropolis hall.

"We person to enactment with ICE immediately," helium said, vowing to extremity New York's sanctuary metropolis policies, which prohibit section instrumentality enforcement from turning implicit apprehended amerciable immigrants for deportation. He credits erstwhile President Trump's migration and instrumentality enforcement policies with taking connected MS-13 straight and said a akin attack is needed to decision Tren de Aragua.

"They are pursuing successful the way of MS-13 each measurement of the way," Sliwa said. 

Keeping America safe

Law enforcement experts pass that Tren de Aragua is much organized and vicious than adjacent the infamous MS-13. 

John Fabbricatore, who served arsenic an ICE tract manager and is presently a GOP legislature campaigner successful Colorado, told Fox News Digital connected Wednesday that TdA is not simply a gang. 

"TdA is simply a existent organization. They're not a gang. They person a amended operation than MS-13 ever had," helium said. 

Ken Cuccinelli, a erstwhile Virginia lawyer wide and acting lawman DHS caput during the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital that TdA's maturation has been "very accelerated" successful South America compared to different gangs that person travel to the U.S.

"They've compressed into 4 years what MS-13 took 20 years to bash successful presumption of scope crossed the country, inactive connected backmost to their location state and operating arsenic an organized entity," helium said. "They're outstripping each the different gangs successful the radical-ness of what they're consenting to bash to Americans successful American communities."

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US President Joe Biden speaks connected the national effect to hurricanes Helene and Milton successful the Roosevelt Room of the White House successful Washington, DC, US, connected Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. To his close sits DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.  (Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

What tin beryllium done to halt them? "What you request to bash is overwhelm the unit with antagonistic force," argues Cuccinelli. "And that means bringing successful authorities police, typically, to reenforce your section instrumentality enforcement. To truly prehend each of these people, apprehension them connected the highest level charges you tin wrong a state." 

He suggested that prosecutors absorption connected weapon and trespassing charges – which transportation mandatory minimum sentences – to get perchance convulsive criminals disconnected the streets earlier they tin perpetrate much crimes. 

At the national level, Cuccinelli said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) ought to marque deportations of pack members their "top priority." He besides said section jurisdictions should extremity sanctuary policies and cooperate with migration enforcement to deport convulsive transgression aliens. 

"Clearly the ICE agents person jurisdiction due to the fact that of the migration component, which is indispensable for them to workout jurisdiction wrong the United States. But determination are 5,000 HSI agents that tin beryllium brought to carnivore connected this problem. HSI unsocial could bring this pack down if they turned their attraction to doing it." 

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Tren de Aragua's brutality and accelerated maturation has not gone unnoticed by the Biden administration.

Heeding the telephone from Rep. Gonzales and different lawmakers, the Treasury Department successful July sanctioned TdA, placing it alongside MS-13 and the Mafia-styled Camorra from Italy connected a database of transnational transgression organizations. Federal authorities are presently offering a $12 cardinal reward for the apprehension of its 3 leaders. 

Multiple national agencies crossed DHS and DOJ are coordinating with authorities and section instrumentality enforcement to combat TdA and different organized crime. In March 2024, HSI designated TdA arsenic an bureau Top Priority Network and the bureau coordinates with U.S. attorneys to found prosecution strategies aimed astatine taking the pack down, according to Torres. 

But critics similar Trump impeach the medication of not doing enough. The Republican campaigner announced past week that he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to people and dismantle "every amerciable migrant transgression web operating connected American soil." 

Trump said, if elected, the national authorities would "send elite squads of ICE, Border Patrol and national instrumentality enforcement officers to hunt down, apprehension and deport each past amerciable alien pack subordinate until determination is not a azygous 1 near successful this country." 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has defended the Biden-Harris administration's instrumentality enforcement efforts successful effect to GOP critics, who complaint the president has permitted transgression organizations to invade the U.S. crossed the confederate border. 

"We are so doing everything we tin to dismantle transgression gangs and transnational transgression organizations," Mayorkas said Sunday connected CBS' "Face the Nation." "Quite frankly, we’ve devoted an unprecedented level of resources and unit and absorption to this effort. This is not a caller phenomenon."

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Gonzales praised the FBI's anti-gang task unit arsenic the perfect instrumentality to harvester federal, authorities and section resources to combat organized crime. 

"Just precocious successful El Paso, the FBI rounded up dozens via this anti-gang task force. We don't person to recreate the wheel," helium said. "We person to utilize the tools we person to spell aft these people, conscionable similar we've done with MS-13 successful immoderate of these different areas." 

But determination is ever country for improvement. The Texas congressman has projected authorities that would necessitate state, section and national instrumentality enforcement agencies to stock quality connected convicted criminals, which could assistance place Tren de Aragua members arsenic targets for deportation.

"Regardless of immoderate a city's argumentation oregon authorities are, keeping America safe, to me, trumps each of that. And the champion mode to bash that is to mandate that these instrumentality enforcement agencies interact," Gonzales said. 

Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baehr, Christina Coulter, Michael Ruiz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.