Of the more than 14 million illegal border crossers reported under the Biden administration, an unknown number of violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua prison gang members illegally entered the country.
Now, police records and official law enforcement statements confirm TdA-linked crime and arrests have occurred in 22 U.S. states.
They include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. TdA activity also has been reported in the District of Columbia.
TdA is known for violence, murder, kidnapping, extortion, bribery and human and drug trafficking and are linked to more than 100 law enforcement investigations nationwide. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is currently looking for 600 suspected TdA members and “subjects of interest” illegally in the U.S., NBC News reported.
While TdA is likely operating in nearly all U.S. states, local police reports and official public statements have yet to confirm this. Federal and state agencies have issued bulletins to law enforcement partners on how to identify TdA members.
In the West: TdA members have been arrested in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming, The Center Square reported. In New Mexico, federal agents arrested TdA fugitives wanted for capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in Texas.
Multiple crimes have been committed by illegal border crossers in California, including residential burglaries allegedly committed by Colombians and Chileans involved in a South American theft group (SATG), The Center Square reported. While several social media reports appear to confuse TdA with SATG, police reports have yet to confirm TdA affiliation with SATG crimes.
Border Patrol and other federal agents in Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico and Texas continue to arrest TdA and other violent gang members.
In the Midwest: TdA members were arrested for violent crimes in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin, with law enforcement officers in Ohio involved in a multi-state ATM theft investigation, The Center Square reported.
TdA members were arrested this year for the first time in North and South Dakota and in Missouri, prompting state and federal lawmakers to demand answers and introduce legislation, The Center Square exclusively reported.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott declared TdA a foreign terrorist organization and state and local law enforcement are actively working to target and eliminate them in multiple operations.
