A representative of the Mexican justice system confirmed the operational participation of the dangerous Venezuelan criminal gang known as Tren de Aragua on the border with the United States, specifically in activities related to human trafficking.
Carlos Manuel Salas, district attorney for the Northern Zone of Chihuahua, revealed in a recent interview that he has received reports about members of this criminal group in the border area.
According to Salas, a person (about whom further details are unknown) is providing information to the Prosecutor's Office about the human trafficking operations in which the Venezuelan gang is involved.
The prosecutor also reported that the issue is already being discussed at the weekly security tables held in the city together with the State Public Security Secretariat (SSPE) and the Municipal Public Security Secretariat (SSPM).
The U.S. Border Patrol had already reported last week that activity of this criminal group was detected between the areas of Juárez and El Paso. However, fears that members of this dangerous gang will enter the United States are not recent.
A few months ago, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued an internal bulletin intelligence for its agents, warning about the illegal entry of members of Tren de Aragua and urging them to pay special attention to specific identifiers of criminals to help in their detection and prevention of entry.
The gang already operates in the United States
The feared criminal gang, which has managed to expand through several countries in America, is not limited only to operating on the border. According to reports, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service has confirmed the arrest of members of this gang in the country, who have been responsible for committing various crimes. Additionally, several reports suggest that Tren de Aragua could be linked to a wave of robberies in New York City.
"Tren de Aragua is an invading criminal army from a prison in Venezuela that has spread their brutality and chaos to U.S. cities and small towns," explained several Republican senators and representatives who asked President Joe Biden to designate the gang as a transnational criminal organization to be able to "effectively mobilize national awareness (...) as well as deploy necessary resources and sanctions that will help to curb the escalating crime and violence threatening communities across the United States."
