Violent Venezuelan gang members are expanding their operations in the Midwest

In Illinois, Chicago has long been plagued by illegal border-crossing crime, serving as a major hub for drug-trafficking operations run by Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and transnational criminal organizations that work with street gangs, the Enforcement Agency reported of drugs in the US.

As the border crisis has escalated in recent years, a record number of illegal Venezuelan border crossings, more than one million, have been reported under the Biden administration. As hundreds of thousands were released in the US, including TdA members, violence spread nationwide, including in the so-called sanctuary city of Chicago.

Members of the Tren de Aragua gang are known for violence, murder, kidnapping, extortion, bribery and human and drug trafficking and are linked to more than 100 law enforcement investigations across the country.

An investigation by America First Legal found that law enforcement in Chicago learned that TdA members ran human trafficking, sexual exploitation, drug trafficking and retail theft rings, also using extreme brutality — including dismemberment — to to threaten his rivals.

TdA members have embedded themselves in South American migrant communities, with Chicago Police Department records revealing at least 30 arrests were of confirmed TdA members between January 1, 2023 and September 10, 2024, according to records obtained by the AFL through Freedom of Information. requests.

In October, the AFL released its first report on TdA crimes affecting Cook County, releasing records from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. In November, it released data and documents from the Chicago Police Department and the Illinois Governor’s Office regarding TdA crime and city policies.

According to police arrest records obtained by CWB Chicago News, arrests of Venezuelan nationals in Chicago exploded by more than 2,500 percent under the Biden administration between 2021 and 2023. Chicago Police Department officers arrested six Venezuelan nationals in 2021, 26 in 2022 and 686 in 2023. , according to the data. Venezuelan arrests in 2023 were up 11,333 percent from 2021 and 2,538 percent from 2022, the publication reported.

The TdA crime doesn’t just stay in Chicago, it’s found to be linked to several cities. Last month, an alleged TdA member operating in Chicago was arrested in Chattanooga, Tenn., in a sex-trafficking crackdown, NBC 5 News Chicago reported.

That’s after he entered the U.S. illegally in Eagle Pass, Texas, in July 2022, was processed for removal and released into the country instead of being detained, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. By February 2024, he was arrested by Cicero, Ill., police officers on multiple charges, including aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and later released. In March, ICE arrested and detained him, nearly two years after ICE first released him into the country.

In Indiana, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detectives busted a sex-trafficking ring linked to TdA members allegedly involved in forced prostitution with ties to a sex-trafficking ring in Boston, Massachusetts, authorities said, WTHR reported News.

TdA members were also arrested in Missouri, prompting state and federal lawmakers to demand answers and introduce legislation, The Center Square exclusively reported.

In Wisconsin, a confirmed TdA member was arrested in Crawford County late last year on six charges, including strangulation, false imprisonment, sexual assault and child abuse, WXOW News 19 reported.

Some think tank and social media reports seem to confuse the TdA with the South American Theft Groups (SATG) operating in the Midwest. The SATGs are run primarily by Colombian and Chilean nationals who either entered the U.S. illegally or exploited a visa program, The Center Square reported. Those targeting NFL and NBA players in Michigan and Minnesota have been confirmed to be part of the SATG, The Center Square reported.

Although TdA has established a stronghold in Colombia, Chile and Peru, authorities have yet to confirm TdA affiliation when making SATG announcements. Many of these cases are ongoing and the SATG perpetrators remain at large.

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The type of crimes and the methodology used by the groups are different, the authorities found. SATG operators target wealthy neighborhoods, break into houses and quickly leave the scene. TdA operators take root in migrant communities, commit human trafficking, forced prostitution, aggravated assault and murder, among other violent crimes.

The common trait shared by SATG and TdA members is that they entered the US illegally under the Biden administration and have been identified as top targets for removal by the Trump administration.