A violent Venezuelan gang that has used the border crisis to establish itself in New York could join forces with the dreaded MS-13, a senior FBI agent told The Post.
Tren de Aragua, who law enforcement warned was rapidly expanding his criminal empire with a series of brazen phone robberies in the five counties, is now the FBI’s top priority, said Special Agent in Charge John Morales.
Morales, the special agent in charge of the El Paso division in Texas, said the agency is closely monitoring Tren de Aragua’s growth and is concerned that it is forming alliances with existing networks.
The Post revealed Monday how a Venezuelan gang, which established a bloody criminal network across South America, is now replicating its methods in New York, recruiting among new immigrants in shelters to set up mobile phone robbery rings – and using its international reach to distribute phones. to Colombia for sale.
Now Morales is warning that it, MS-13 and other gangs could be temporary allies — and says the FBI is actively sharing intelligence about the Tren de Aragua.
The FBI warned that members of the MS-13 gang, such as leader Ãlmer Canales (center), could be working with the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that has aligned itself with the surge of immigrants crossing the southern border. Members of the Tren de Aragua gang after a raid on the Tocoron prison in Venezuela last year. Dozens of gang members escaped, and went north to the US with immigrant groups. ZUMAPRESS.com
“Even though these groups don’t usually mix, it’s always a concern as a group [Tren de Aragua] growing in strength and gaining ground,” Morales said in an exclusive interview with The Post.
“Right now we are working with our local law enforcement partners and sharing intelligence to stop the growth of Tren de Aragua.”
Gang members typically pass through border cities, such as El Paso, on their way to other parts of the US, Morales said.
Border Patrol agents detained 41 members of the Tren de Aragua along the southern US border between October 2022 and September 2023 — and the FBI is now appealing to Venezuelan immigrants to report gang members, offering witness protection and temporary visas if they do so.
The NYPD has arrested two men linked to an immigrant crew who stole cellphones while riding a moped. NYPD Go Nakamura for NY Post; Christopher Sadowski; NYPD; Google Maps; Adobe stock; Natural
“Their first victims were their Venezuelan friends,” Morales said, adding that the group was trying to recruit new members among their own immigrant communities.
They extort Venezuelans by demanding they pay bribes in exchange for protection and also to cross the border from Venezuela to Colombia and from Mexico to the US, he said.
Tren de Aragua has taken advantage of the explosion in Venezuelan migration to cross the southern border. There were more than 340,000 “encounters” with immigrants from that country at the border last year, making them second only to Mexican nationals.
Another expert warned that there was also the risk of turf wars between groups.
“They’re already coming in as hardened criminals,” said Robert Almonte, a security consultant and former US Marshal in El Paso.
The border crisis has allowed Tren de Aragua members to enter the United States by claiming asylum. Reuters
“But they are [Tren de Aragua] definitely trying to recruit others to join the group in the US.
“I would not rule out the possibility that they could form alliances with other groups, but what is more likely to happen is that a turf war breaks out as each group fights to control their own criminal enterprise.”
Tren de Aragua originated in Venezuelan prisons and has exploded into Colombia, Peru and Chile, where it is known for the brutal torture and murder of its victims, including prostitutes who are routinely executed to control the sex trade.
In the US, the group has made inroads in Chicago and Miami, where a member of the group was recently arrested after the murder of a retired Venezuelan police officer.
In the Peruvian capital, Lima, the gang killed rival pimps and prostitutes to control the sex trade, which brought in more than $275,000 a month, El País reported.
Hector Guerrero, the leader of the Tren de Aragua, is believed to have fled to the US after the Venezuelan military raided their headquarters inside the Tocoron prison. Ministry of the Interior of Venezuela
Last year US Homeland Security and law enforcement in Peru created a dedicated Transnational Criminal Investigation Unit to share intelligence on the Tren de Aragua.
Law enforcement officials say the group’s leader, Hector Guerrero, fled his prison headquarters after a Venezuelan military raid last year and may be hiding in the US.
MS-13, which was formed among Salvadoran immigrants in Los Angeles in the 1980s, now has more than 10,000 members and is closely linked to Mexican drug cartels.
Its heavily tattooed leader has used brutal tactics, particularly in Queens and Long Island where MS-13 members have unleashed a bloody crime wave, culminating in the 2017 killing of 16-year-old Julio Vasquez who was stabbed 30 times and nearly severed his head.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
