A notorious Venezuelan gang that has spread its tentacles across the US is now terrorizing “every major city” in Tennessee, local officials warn.
Tren de Aragua was described by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch as a violent “super gang” during Tuesday’s budget meeting.
“We know they are moving toward more violence,” Rausch said. “They’re back in all our major cities. They are conducting human trafficking operations.”
Major cities in Illinois, Connecticut, Georgia, New York, Colorado and several cities in Texas have also seen major incidents involving the gang.
“They are here, and they are in numbers,” Rausch added.
He warned that the group was headed for more violence and has asked the governor for funding to put an end to their activities before they turn more into shoplifting and drug trafficking.
He added: “Recently there was a video they showed where they shot a cartel member 31 times in broad daylight and posted it on social media.”
Congressman Andy Ogles said he had been watching this issue closely. He added, “Every small town in America is a border town because of the immigration crisis.”
The Tren de Aragua gang has been found to be experiencing increasing violence in several major cities in America
Footage of the gang’s activities in Colorado appears to show the armed gang taking control of an apartment complex
Gang members have been arrested across America on charges of violence, sex crimes, drug crimes or human trafficking. Pictured is Estefania Primera, 37, who was arrested in Texas on human trafficking charges after drugging another migrant woman and forcing her to have sex
“We will start deporting those who are here. You have to prioritize those who are here with violent intent,” said Ogles, who reached out to President-elect Donald Trump. Gov. Lee told it WZTV he would assess the TBI’s budget requests.
The same gang had been identified in the state during a human trafficking bust years ago. The gang had kidnapped women from Venezuela and brought them to Tennessee. Many gang members fled after the operation, but no one has been seen since.
Stories about the violent gang’s presence across America have increased in recent years.
Arrest details shared with DailyMail.com showed the gangsters were now operating in more US cities than initially feared.
Members of the Tren de Aragua gang were captured in Chicago — dozens in less than two years — and several were allowed to walk free, police said. New York Post.
At least 30 suspected gang members were arrested by Chicago police between January 2023 and September 2024 for crimes ranging from traffic violations to robberies and drug offenses, the newspaper reported.
The gang had adopted his name between 2013 and 2015 CNNbut started its activities years earlier.
The group’s leadership reportedly fled the infamous Tocorón prison, which they controlled.
Inside the prison walls, officials found a swimming pool and several restaurants and weapons, including automatic rifles, machine guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch has warned that the violent “super gang,” Tren de Aragua, has infiltrated all major cities in the state and continues to grow.
Venezuela’s most violent gang, Tren de Aragua, has moved its headquarters to just across the US border in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez.
Jason Owens, head of the US Border Patrol, wrote on X: “Beware of this gang. It is the most powerful country in Venezuela and is known for murders, drug trafficking, sex crimes, extortion and other violent acts.”
A former Venezuelan police officer, Álvaro Boza, now living in Florida, says he fled his country largely because the gang had become so powerful.
Boza recalled that the gang was able to kill law enforcement officers, just like him, with little consequence.
A fellow police officer who refused to cooperate with the gang was shot fifty times, Boza recalls: “He refused and was killed. They tied his body to a motorcycle and dragged it through the San Vicente neighborhood to demonstrate the power of the Tren de Aragua.”
Earlier this year, Republican members of Congress, led by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, called on the Biden administration to designate the gang as a “Transnational Criminal Organization,” CNN reported.
The letter they sent to President Biden read: “If left unchecked, they will unleash an unprecedented reign of terror, mirroring the devastation it has already wrought on communities across Central and South America, particularly in Colombia , Chile, Ecuador and Peru. ‘