President Donald Trump has pointed out that the notorious Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela is now operating in American cities, citing law enforcement officials in Miami and Chicago in a new opinion editorial for the Daily Mail.
“Last year, 43 percent of all ICE arrests were aliens with criminal convictions or pending charges for some 33,000 assaults, 3,000 robberies, almost 7,000 burglaries, 7,500 weapons offenses, 4,300 sex crimes, 1,600 kidnappings, and 1,700 homicides,” Trump wrote on Thursday, adding: “In Chicago and Miami, police have confirmed the violent Venezuelan ‘Tren de Aragua’ gang is now operating in their cities.”
Tren de Aragua is an incredibly violent gang known for sex trafficking as well as mass murder and racketeering. Its influence also extends to sports, with Venezuelan journalist Ronna Rísquez explaining: “…their involvement in sports activities, more precisely in the deals of Venezuelan baseball players who sign for major league clubs in the United States. Investigations indicate that they are shadow partners in several training academies and that they charge a large percentage for each contract.”
Tren de Aragua is active across Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, and Panama. It has around 2,500 known active members.
Ammon Blair, a former Border Patrol agent, said of the group: “They are specifically known for their violence and their extortion… Meaning if you don’t pay your tax, [they] first shoot your wrist. If you don’t pay it again, [they shoot] you in the ankle, if you mess up and don’t pay it again, you’re dead.”
In his Daily Mail op-ed, Trump also explained: “In New York City, NYPD officers were recently mobbed and viciously beaten by a pack of migrant criminals. In Michigan, gangs of migrants are stalking suburban houses and plundering them for valuables. And in Georgia just last week, 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley was savagely attacked and murdered on the campus of the University of Georgia. An illegal alien migrant who was released into our country under Biden has been charged with her killing.”
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