GOP lawmaker describes violent Venezuelan prison gang infiltrating US as 'MS-13 on steroids'

A violent Venezuelan prison gang even more hardcore than MS-13 has reportedly infiltrated the United States.

Originally from Aragua, Venezuela, the Tren de Aragua prison gang (TDA) was sanctioned as a transnational criminal organization by the Department of the Treasury (USDT) last month, it reported. Fox News.

The USDT said in a statement at the time that TDA “is expanding throughout the Western Hemisphere and engages in a variety of criminal activities, including human trafficking and trafficking, gender-based violence, money laundering and illicit drug trafficking”.

Biden's open border policies allow terrorists like Tren de Aragua to destroy our communities.

I have been calling for this for MONTHS and with each passing day, more Americans were put at risk. It's time to make America safe again and close the border.https://t.co/iNeGpoknh4

— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) July 11, 2024

Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican, has described TDA as “MS-13 on steroids.”

“They are extremely aggressive,” he told Fox News. “It's not like they're a passive group or want to do things quietly.”

“They come from Venezuela, one of the countries most devastated by war in the last decade. So they are battle-hardened in many ways. And they have made this walk from there to here. But they are also becoming … more organized and more brazen,” he added.

Gonzales further said that because of the way the gang is organized, they have become increasingly difficult to track in the states. Likewise, they are increasingly difficult to deport because the Venezuelan government does not accept them again.

“Only 834 Venezuelans were deported in fiscal year 2023, according to data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), despite more than 335,000 encounters with Venezuelan migrants at the border that year,” Fox News noted.

A recent example of gang violence occurred in late June at a jewelry store in Denver, Colorado, where members of the TDA gang pistol-whipped two women before robbing the store.

“The brutal robbery captured on video shows several young men posing as customers, suddenly confronting the all-female staff and customers,” at the Denver station. KDVR reported

“The robbers are seen pulling out guns, pushing open an office door and whipping two women who fall to the ground. A young woman can be seen holding a baby and running out the back door during the chaos,” according to the station.

When the suspects were later caught, they were found to be members of the TDA.

(Video credit: KTSM 9 NEWS)

Meanwhile, in New Mexico, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) recently shared a memo warning that TDA members have been given the “green light” to open fire on police.

“APD received information from federal partners about possible 'green light' attacks on law enforcement by the Tren de Aragua (TdA) criminal organization operating out of Denver, Colorado,” the memo said . “Credible human sources in Colorado provided information about TdA giving the 'green light' to shoot or attack law enforcement.”

Remember Laken Riley, the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was killed by Venezuelan criminal alien Jose Ibarra while jogging in February? Fox News reported that the suspect's brother, Diego Ibarra, had ties to TDA.

“The Ibarras, along with a third brother, were living in the United States illegally after crossing the country through Texas and eventually making their way to the college town of Athens, Georgia,” Fox News noted.

Illegal migrant Diego Ibarra, the brother of Jose Ibarra, the illegal who murdered Laken Riley, has ties to Venezuela's violent prison gang Tren de Aragua, according to federal prosecutors.

Before Biden erased the southern border, Tren de Aragua had no presence in the US. pic.twitter.com/EIlpfnhYfe

— The Conservative Reading (@theconread) March 7, 2024

“A lot of people are fleeing economic persecution and are looking for an opportunity,” Gonzales said. “But embedded in these people are many [criminals] that they want to hurt you And don't think for a second that this evil won't happen to you because of where you live, or because you've never met anyone from Venezuela. Do not care.”

Is true.

To its credit, the Biden administration is at least very aware of the gang.

“HSI is aware of recent violent crimes and arrests involving individuals allegedly associated with the Tren de Aragua gang and continues to assess emerging trends and assist law enforcement agencies,” an ICE spokesperson told Fox News .

Meanwhile, the FBI has warned that TDA may try to team up with MS-13.

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a BizPac Review staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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