(NewsNation) — Tren de Aragua’s foothold in the United States is growing.
The Venezuelan gang is the fastest-growing transnational criminal organization, in part because the U.S. government cannot track criminal records in Venezuela.
As such, members of the gang are more easily able to blend in with law-abiding migrants.
According to reports, crimes — from robbery to murder — have been committed by gang members in at least 15 states and Washington, D.C.
“Well over a million Venezuelans have been released into this country on parole or for (notices to appear). They are not going to show up for their hearings,” Paul Perez, National Border Patrol Council president, told NewsNation. “The ones that we’ve apprehended are the ones that we’ve tied to TdA (Tren de Aragua) are the ones that have been apprehended for committing crimes. So, there are many more out there.
“They’re operating in almost half of the United States that we know of right now. Wherever there’s going to be Venezuelans, we’re going to find TdA members because they’re hiding, and we have no way of vetting them because Venezuela doesn’t cooperate in that way.”
Tren de Aragua is a prison gang that was formed back in 2014 and has been designated as a terrorist organization by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has called on Vice President Kamala Harris to do the same.
“We’re not going to stop reinforcing areas that are vulnerable to potential illegal crossing,” Chris Olivarez, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson, told NewsNation.
Abbott reissued a disaster proclamation regarding the southern border, adding additional counties.
