Gang members posing as migrants flood New York and build criminal empires

Bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua used migrant shelters in New York to build criminal empire, reports New York Post.

In less than a year, a once obscure South American street gang has established itself in the Big Apple, exploiting the migrant crisis to build a violent criminal enterprise within the city's shelters.

Dangerous migrants

The Tren de Aragua (TDA), a gang of thugs from Venezuela, now terrorize Gotham. Armed men ride mopeds, sell illegal weapons under the noses of private shelter guards, and run prostitution rings.

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The gang also traffics in a lethal fentanyl mixture called "Tussie," or "Pink Cocaine."

It grew quickly. Members grouping terrorize ordinary New Yorkers and the city's elite police force.

“Not every immigrant is here to commit crimes. And not every immigrant is a gang member,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney. “But these TDA guys are very good at hiding in plain sight in the immigrant community.”

“We’re not going to bust a food delivery guy, but these guys are way out there. They wear Uber Eats clothing and use delivery bags when they commit their crimes,” Kenny said. “When we arrest them, they’re willing to talk about the crime they committed, but they don’t want to talk about TDA.”

The gang, whose name means "train from Aragua" in Spanish (a state in north-central Venezuela), now runs robberies and terrorizes quarters.

In Jackson Heights' Roosevelt Avenue section, vendors peddle stolen goods, and migrant prostitutes prowl the open-air red-light district day and night.

A 24-hour brothel raided by NYPD last week may be linked to the gang.

A long list of victims

One of the current crime sprees involved about two dozen robberies by migrants armed with guns or knives. The perpetrators were aged between 15 and 19, law enforcement sources said.

The gangs travel in groups of a half-dozen or more people and target not only retailers but also regular New Yorkers. In June, one victim was approached by TDA gangsters at knifepoint. They beat and robbed the man.

In July, another victim who was relaxing near a playground in Central Park was robbed of $80 and a phone by two thugs. The bandits forced the victim to give the password to the gadget before running away.

And last month, one of the migrants robbed a woman walking near Rockefeller Center.

The New York police recently busted a major robbery ring. Two dozen immigrant teenagers were either arrested or named as suspects in 21 brutal robberies.

"They said, 'We need your phone, we need your stuff.' I had my bag, my phone, my AirPods, my Apple Watch," one of the victims recalled. "These unknown people hit me in the face. I was retreating, trying to fight back, but I couldn't do anything. And then five more guys came - there were at least 10 of them in total."

TDA bandits do not hesitate to attack police officers.

Gang member Bernardo Castro Mata, 19, was arrested in Queens in June and charged with shooting NYPD officers Richard Iarusso and Christian Abreu.

In February, alleged gang member Jesus Alejandro Rivas-Figueroa, who was just 15 years old, was arrested for allegedly shooting at a tourist and a police officer in Times Square.

A month earlier, gunmen had attacked two New York City police officers in the same area. One of them, identified as Joan Boada, 22, was so brazen that he flashed an obscene hand signal to reporters as he left court without bail.

Very bad people

For most asylum seekers, the gang is a stain on their community, an example of the rampant violence and lawlessness that drove migrants from their homeland.

“I wouldn’t want the violence I grew up with to start here,” said a Venezuelan migrant at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan. “I brought my children here so they wouldn’t have the same experience with criminals they had in Venezuela.”

Another migrant called the gang "very bad people."

The epicenter of TDA activity in New York City was Randall's Island, where a massive tent city was erected to help house the wave of migrants from the border into the United States.

Kenny called it the "central hub" of the gang.

“You have your own shelter, and also something like a tent city where people who are not registered at the shelter have settled on their own,” the chief said.

The gangsters have infiltrated other shelters, too. Sources say one of the TDA's top figures was kicked out of a massive shelter on Hall Street in Brooklyn for violating rules. But he returns every other day to collect drug money and settle any differences among gang members.

Enmity

The 4000-bed shelter is home to members of a rival Venezuelan gang, El Carro De Lost Caragijos 666, which had been at odds with the TDA even before arriving in the United States.

Tren began expanding beyond its home base in 2018. The gang came to the attention of the Venezuelan military when it resorted to murder and bribery to win lucrative rail contracts in the city of Maracay.

The gang members entered the United States by blending in with millions of migrants. But they can be identified by the distinctive tattoos they wear: anchors, watches, crowns, and phrases containing the word guerrero. It means warrior in Spanish, but also pays homage to Hector “Nino” Guerrero, the leader of Tren de Aragua in Venezuela.

Gang members' tattoos often feature the number "23" or NBA stars Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Both players wear the number on their jerseys. Other gang members wear images of bulls, presumably a reference to the Chicago Bulls basketball team, a city where TDA thrives.

The gang expanded into New Jersey, in part due to new recruits recruited in the Big Apple.

The focus is on shelters

In New York, TDA recruiters worked in the city's shelters. They recruited new members, often forcing them to join the group under threat of persecution of their families.

Any asylum seekers who refuse to join are labeled as enemies of the TDA.

Many migrants seeking work turn to food delivery. The TDA exploited this industry by putting armed robbers and even killers on mopeds and scooters, often passing them off as delivery men.

Guns and drugs were smuggled into safe houses in bags of food. They were rarely searched or passed through metal detectors by security.

Migrant hit squads also use scooters to eliminate rivals or breakaway gang members. The two-wheelers carry a driver and a shooter, while gang members watch nearby cars.

TDA members are not afraid to open fire on police officers. This is standard practice in Venezuela. There, shooting at police officers is a way to get away with it.

When they are apprehended in New York, TDA gang members tell of the crimes they have committed, but most refuse to admit their affiliation with the violent gang for fear of retribution.