Tren de Aragua is in cities like Chicago, but to what extent?

CHICAGO (NewsNation) — A notorious Venezuelan prison gang that has infiltrated the United States has been in Chicago for nearly a year, putting local law enforcement agencies on high alert.

Tren de Aragua developed out of a Venezuelan prison and into a dangerous transnational criminal organization that focuses on sex trafficking, drugs and human smuggling. With more than 5,000 members, the gang is Venezuela’s largest criminal organization that has been linked to several high-profile crimes in various parts of the U.S.

The gang’s presence in sanctuary cities like Chicago, Denver and New York raises concern; however, the level of their activity remains in question.

Emails obtained by NewsNation from intelligence officials within the Cook County Sheriff’s Office show warnings to Chicago area law enforcement agencies about the gang’s presence as early as October of last year.

The gang is described as a “new threat developing amongst the newly arriving immigrant community,” describing Tren de Aragua as an organization that has strong human trafficking operations in Latin America and is likely engaged in sex and labor trafficking in the U.S.

In one email, two officials from the sheriff’s office acknowledge discussions about the possibility that a criminal network would be operating within the migrant community and likely would “victimize members of that population.”

“It appears we have confirmation of that now,” the email states.

Tren de Aragua in sanctuary cities

Along with Chicago, law enforcement in New York City and Denver have also confirmed the gang’s presence. All three cities were the final destinations for buses sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott from the southern border filled with migrants.

Robert Almonte, a former U.S. Marshal and deputy chief with the El Paso Police Department, told NewsNation that Tren de Aragua has had a U.S. presence for the past two years.

Gang members have been tied to the shooting of two New York City police officers and other violent acts. Almonte said that the group’s activity in sanctuary cities could be even more problematic.

While many cross the border in search of a new life or to seek asylum, the Venezuelan gang travel to the cities because they already have associates to continue their criminal enterprise, Almonte said.

“If we don’t get a handle on them, they’re going to become a bigger problem than they are today,” Almonte said.

Getting a handle on the issue, however, also presents its challenges.

Gang members often have identifying tattoos such as the Nike “Jumpman” logo and other designs specific to Tren de Aruagua, Chicago area law enforcement emails show.

But at the border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials often have difficulty separating gang members from others crossing into the U.S. because of trouble vetting those crossing the border coming from Venezuela, Almonte said

Tren de Aragua’s reported clash with Chicago gangs

Tren de Aragua members have been linked to violent crimes, including murder, but the scope of the gang’s presence in cities such as Chicago has not been verified.

Tyrone Muhammad, a reformed gang member who spent 20 years in prison for murder, told NewsNation that members of the Tren de Aragua had not only moved into Chicago’s South Side but were clashing with local gang members.

“These young men don’t live by those same codes, and these guys come in, they blend in with the Puerto Ricans, the Mexicans and other Latin Americans, and they integrate into their gang culture. And what they doing is starting to set up in our various neighborhoods, taking over abandoned buildings, taking boards down, making those buildings their own,” Muhammad said Monday on NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live.”

Muhammad claims that Venezuelan gang members who arrived in the U.S. and flooded Chicago’s migrant shelters are now overtaking local apartment buildings.

“Chicago gang culture is not like what it used to be,” Muhammad said, highlighting the lack of respect for community guidelines and structures set by founding gang leaders.

Muhammad called the new gangs “terrorists” for their potential to harm American citizens.

While Chicago law enforcement officials have confirmed that the Tren de Aragua is present in the city, it has not addressed claims made by Muhammad, who now works with the group Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change.

Police investigate claims regarding Tren de Aragua

In early September, a 911 call was placed claiming that 32 Venezuelan migrants had taken over an apartment complex in Chicago. The report made its way to social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and went viral after being shared by Elon Musk and others.

Chicago Police Department officials investigated the claims and found no such incident took place. The alderperson for the area, Jeanette Taylor, also denied anything had happened, blaming the rumors on political motivations.

“It’s better for them to make it seem like Black and brown people fight amongst each other than for them to deal with the real issue and create real policies that make everybody safe,” Taylor said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

In the suburban Denver community of Aurora, claims of Venezuelan migrants taking over an apartment building with semiautomatic long guns also went viral on social media.

Police in Aurora could not confirm gang activity but said in a statement that “they are aware that components of TdA are operating in Aurora.”

The department said that it has increasingly been collecting evidence to show the gang is connected to crimes in the area. However, it said that it would be improper to make “conclusory statements” about certain incidents.

Chicago gang expert: Tren de Aragua takeover unlikely

Lance Williams, a professor of educational inquiry and curriculum studies at Northeastern Illinois University and an expert on Chicago gangs, said that despite social media posts and claims to police of trouble caused by Venezuelans, his conversations with gang members in South Side neighborhoods suggest otherwise.

“I haven’t seen any substantial evidence that there was some Venezuelan gang presence in any of the hotspot neighborhoods in Chicago,” Williams told NewsNation.

He added: “I’m not saying there are no Venezuelan gangs here … but I see absolutely no gang activity and no presence of Venezuelans in the hood trying to take over anything or any conflict between African American neighborhoods and Venezuelan gangs.”

Williams, whose father was a member of one of Chicago’s first Black street gangs, cites the clickbait nature of stories like what took place in Aurora, Colorado, as a driver of misinformation when it comes to Tren de Aragua’s activity in Chicago. Williams also said that individuals with political interests are often the source of information tied to the Venezuelan street gangs.

Williams said that Chicago’s gang activity has shifted dramatically over the past 30 years. He said rather than large criminal organizations with hierarchal systems of leadership, the gangs that are present in neighborhoods are heavily fragmented.

While conflicts may exist on a much smaller level, disputes between gangs are much different than in the past and typically don’t cross racial lines, Williams added.

“(Gang) members don’t know the difference between a Venezuelan and a Mexican,” Williams said. “So just the idea of them having conflict with Venezuelans doesn’t make sense because they don’t understand the difference between the two.”

Risks of ignoring Tren de Aragua: Law enforcement expert

Almonte said cities run a significant risk if they ignore the presence of Tren de Aragua. In working with local police departments, Almonte said that law enforcement should focus on neighborhoods where migrants from Venezuela are currently living.

In many cases, the gang members are targeting their countrymen by extorting them and luring them into criminal activities.

Almonte said if police officers are encountering members of the gang, city leaders should identify the scope of their presence and “go after them.”

“To have a mayor or some other city official come out and deny that they’re there, all they’re doing is hurting their own people,” Almonte said. “That doesn’t serve any purpose. I think the reason they do that is they don’t want to give their city a bad image, like ‘Oh, my God, we’re getting taken over by a gang.'”

NewsNation’s Damita Menezes contributed to this report.

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