GANGSTennessee Bureau of Investigations: Venezuelan Gang in Every Major City in State
Tren de Aragua (TdA) members are known for violence, and have been accused of murder, kidnapping, extortion, bribery and human and drug trafficking, and linked to more than 100 law enforcement investigations nationwide
At a state budget hearing last month, the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, David Rausch, reported to Gov. Bill Lee that a violent Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA), is operating “in all of our major cities. They are running human trafficking operations, that’s where they start. We are now talking with our peers throughout the country that they have a pathway to more violence.”
In response, Gov. Bill Lee, an ardent supporter of border security efforts, issued a statement on X saying, “The border crisis is exactly why Americans voted for change. It’s not political – it’s about safety & security. TN will support @realdonaldtrump as he secures our border while delivering key resources for @TBInvestigation to stop illegal criminals from operating in our state.”
Tennessee has long partnered with Texas’ border security mission Operation Lone Star. Earlier this year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared TdA a foreign terrorist organization and Texas Department of Public Safety began creating a database to identify TdA members, characterizations, and arrests. No such database currently exists at the local, state or federal level.
TdA members are known for violence, and have been accused of murder, kidnapping, extortion, bribery and human and drug trafficking, and linked to more than 100 law enforcement investigations nationwide, The Center Square has reported.
In Texas, they’ve been connected to ATM and bank thefts, car jackings, execution style murders and assault of women and children, The Center Square has reported. Texas law enforcement officers have arrested more than 3,000 Venezuelan illegal border crossers; more than 200 are wanted, Abbott said. Multiple agency arrests are occurring in major Texas cities involving kidnapping, murder, drug and human trafficking.
TdA crime has escalated nationwide after more than one million Venezuelans were reported illegally entering the country under the Biden administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.
Rausch has been sounding the alarm after TBI has been involved in operations involving TdA arrests over the past year.
Ahead of Thanksgiving, he announced a joint investigation involving the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Chattanooga Police Department, the state’s Human Trafficking Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations that resulted in the arrest of four men, including a TdA member. They were allegedly involved in a sex trafficking ring using a local hotel. The confirmed TdA member is also suspected of committing violent crimes in Chicago and New York City, TBI said.
