After expanding its criminal activities across South America, Tren de Aragua, the largest gang formed in Venezuela, became a threat in at least 16 American states, according to information from the US Department of Homeland Security.
Since last year, authorities in the country have been on alert due to the involvement of members of the faction in crimes committed in the country. Cities such as New York, Miami and Los Angeles are some of the gang’s main centers of activity, which takes advantage of waves of mass migration to infiltrate and commit crimes such as robberies, financial fraud and trafficking in people and weapons, thus channeling revenue to its operations in other parts of the continent.
The criminal organization’s operational bases have already been identified in less expected places, such as the states of Montana, Wyoming and Tennessee, revealing an alarming capacity for expansion and adaptation of the members of the Tren de Aragua, which has challenged the country’s authorities.
According to the New York Post, the states where the Venezuelan faction has its main bases are California, Florida, New York, Texas, Georgia and Colorado. However, it was the gang’s presence in Washington DC and Virginia that increased the US government’s concerns, as it coincides with the growth of the Venezuelan immigrant population in these regions.
In August of last year, three people investigated as members of the Tren de Aragua were arrested in Fairfax County while trying to steal merchandise from a store. Authorities identified that the prisoners had tattoos known to the gang and were in possession of false Venezuelan identities.
According to the American press, in larger cities, such as New York, the criminal group is linked to the trafficking of foreign women, forced into prostitution in upscale areas with greater tourist appeal. The same complaint was made in Tennessee.
According to the New York Post, the arrival of gang members in the country was facilitated by a series of failures in the Joe Biden government’s security system at the border.