opinion
According to recent reports, there are indications that members of the Tren de Aragua, a powerful transnational criminal gang originating from Venezuela, may have arrived in the United States.
The gang is known for its involvement in kidnappings, drug trafficking and contract killings, and its presence has been a growing concern for law enforcement agencies.
The Miami Herald reported that a gang member was accused of killing a 43-year-old retired Venezuelan police officer who lived in Doral, Florida. The man was kidnapped and murdered by 23-year-old Euroen Salazar, known to be a member of the Tren de Aragua.
While the Herald describes Salazar as merely an “immigrant,” the newspaper also notes that “several” members of the gang, known for their “deliberate use of violence,” “joined the massive migration wave fleeing Venezuela and set up shop in neighboring countries.”
RELATED: Same day, Biden offered nearly 500,000 protections to Venezuelan illegal aliens, video shows them walking across border by the thousands
A Venezuelan gang roams South Florida
The Joe Biden administration's open border policies have led to the arrival of a “bloodthirsty” gang from Venezuela, called the Tren de Aragua.
The Herald newspaper reported that the gang operates “as an umbrella organization for small gangs specializing in all types of crime, from kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking to prostitution, robbery and murder-for-hire”.
They also noted that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol arrested 38 people suspected of being Tren de Aragua members in the previous fiscal year.
Javier Ignacio Mallorca, a Venezuelan security expert cited by the Miami Herald, explained that the gang members were coming from Colombia and “walked all the way to the United States.”
If Salazar is proven to be a gang member, it would serve as confirmation that at least one of these dangerous individuals had successfully crossed the border and was roaming South Florida. It is very likely that there are more like it.
RELATED: Stunning footage shows tens of thousands of illegal immigrants desperately trying to catch a train and cross the US border
They could be somewhere else
The arrival of the “bloodthirsty” gang means the arrival of what former President Donald Trump would call “animals.” They are as violent as MS-13 gang members, according to various media reports.
Aside from the Herald describing them as using kidnapping and murder-for-hire, the New York Post describes them as running a large sex trafficking operation by “branding women and young girls with tattoos.”
Chicago police officers were warned in November to be on the lookout for members of the Tren de Aragua among thousands of illegal immigrants sent there through Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
The presence of a violent Venezuelan gang member comes as videos shared on social media show thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants trying to get from that country to the southern border of the United States via train.
ABC News reported in September that nearly 5,000 illegal immigrants from Venezuela tried to hop on trains near the central Mexican city of Irapuato, while drone footage showed them above trains headed to Eagle Pass, Texas.
Around the same time, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced that nearly half a million illegal Venezuelan immigrants would be granted permission to live and work in the country legally.
Mallorca's announcement came as videos emerged on social media showing thousands of illegal Venezuelan foreigners casually walking across the border in Texas.
The expansion of the Tren de Aragua can be largely attributed to the open border policies of the Biden administration, which has allowed increased migration and, unfortunately, the arrival of “bloodthirsty” gang members as well.
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