U.S. officials report that a violent prison gang known as Tren de Aragua, which started in Aragua, Venezuela, is infiltrating the United States.
In July, the Treasury Department designated TDA as a transnational criminal organization, highlighting its involvement in a range of crimes including human trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, money laundering, and drug trafficking, which pose a “deadly criminal threat across” the Western Hemisphere.
Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales referred to TDA as “MS-13 on steroids,” indicating that members have been entering the United States for several years, during a phone interview with Fox News Digital.
“They are extremely aggressive. This isn’t a group that seeks to operate quietly,” Gonzales explained. “They’re coming from Venezuela, one of the most war-torn nations over the past decade. Hence, they are battle-hardened. They’ve made this journey, and they are becoming more organized and audacious.”
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Peruvian police captured the alleged leader and 31 other members of a Tren de Aragua faction in October 2023. (Cris Bouroncle/AFP via Getty Images)
Gonzales mentioned that due to their organization within the U.S., tracking TDA members has become increasingly challenging. Additionally, they are difficult to deport as Venezuela refuses to accept them back.
In fiscal 2023, only 834 Venezuelans were deported according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data, even though there were over 335,000 encounters with Venezuelan migrants at the border that year.
The Biden administration began returning illegal Venezuelan immigrants directly to the authoritarian regime in October 2023 to curb the influx at the border.
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However, Venezuela halted accepting these flights in January after the U.S. reinstated economic sanctions that it had previously lifted.
“They effectively released these individuals and told them, ‘You’re getting a one-way ticket to the United States,'” Gonzales recounted.
This image compilation highlights a suspected Tren de Aragua member near the southern border. (Fox News/Border Patrol)
In one recent violent incident, TDA members were implicated in a June 24 jewelry heist in Denver, Colorado, where several suspects pretending to be customers brandished firearms and assaulted two women inside the jewelry store, according to FOX 31 Denver.
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According to the Albuquerque Police Department in New Mexico, a bulletin shared in July warned law enforcement of reports indicating that TDA members in Denver have received a “‘green light’ to target or attack law enforcement.”
TDA members were implicated in a June 24 jewelry heist in Denver where suspects disguised as customers drew firearms and assaulted two women inside the store, according to FOX 31 Denver. (HSI El Paso)
The murder suspect in Laken Riley’s case, Jose Ibarra, has a brother named Diego Ibarra, who has links to the gang, as previously reported by Fox News. The Ibarra brothers, along with another sibling, entered the U.S. illegally by crossing through Texas and eventually settled in Athens, Georgia.
The gang is believed to be linked to numerous robberies across all five boroughs of New York City, and two members were arrested after attacking two NYPD officers in Times Square in January.
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Images from federal court documents show Diego Ibarra’s purported fake green card and photos considered evidence of his alleged affiliation with the violent Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela. (Middle District of Georgia)
“Many individuals are escaping economic turmoil and are seeking opportunities,” Gonzales stated. “However, among these individuals are numerous criminals who intend to inflict harm. Don’t underestimate the possibility that danger can affect you, regardless of where you reside or if you’ve never interacted with someone from Venezuela; it’s irrelevant.”
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operates a National Gang Unit that collaborates with various law enforcement agencies at federal, state, local, and international levels to identify and take action against violent street gangs and their transnational members. The agency also supports enhanced investigations against gangs within HSI field offices across the nation and overseas.
“Homeland Security Investigations is dedicated to investigating and dismantling transnational gangs, focusing on addressing emerging threats related to them,” an ICE representative stated to Fox News Digital. “HSI is monitoring the recent violent acts and arrests involving individuals connected to the Tren de Aragua gang and is assessing new trends while assisting affiliated law enforcement agencies.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Individuals tied to gang activity in their home countries, identified during standard immigration enforcement actions, are prioritized for arrest and removal.
The FBI has raised concerns that TDA members may collaborate with the more notorious MS-13 as they seek to extend their influence within the United States.
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According to the Treasury, TDA “exploits its transnational networks to traffic individuals, particularly migrant women and girls, for purposes of sex trafficking and debt servitude.” The agency added that when victims attempt to escape their exploitation, members of Tren de Aragua often murder them and publicize these killings as a warning to others.
Anyone with information related to gang activity is encouraged to submit anonymous tips to ICE by calling the HSI tip line at 877-4-HSI-TIP.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
