A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field director sounded the alarm about the rapid expansion of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) in the United States.
John Fabbricatore told Fox News Digital that the gang, which originated in Venezuela’s Tocoron prison, has infiltrated states such as Colorado, Georgia, and Texas. He indicated that the criminal organization has grown to rival MS-13, another notorious gang known for its brutality.
“TdA is a true organization. They’re not a gang. They have a better structure than MS-13 ever had,” he said. He further explained that given the group’s fast expansion, “you need to realize that they’ve grown faster and gotten into certain aspects of crime better than MS-13 did and MS-13 has been here for 25 years.”
He continued:
TdA has put a foothold and has built up structure and foundation in other South American countries after leaving Venezuela in just a few short years. And when we look at that and we see what they’re already doing in the United States, that’s the worry,” he says.
“And I think enough news organizations are not looking into that to see how fast TDA has grown in such a short amount of time. And that’s why we have to do what we have to do. We have to put them out now. We have to make sure that they don’t grow to get a strong foothold,” he warned.
Fabbricatore’s worrying remarks come amid growing concerns that TdA’s influence will remain in the United States for decades if it is not addressed immediately. Law enforcement has struggled to address the gang’s violent activities. The gang became known on a national scale when its members took over an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. The management company described how armed gang members forced tenants to flee in fear.
“Once we fully understood what we—and our tenants—were facing, we expected a swift response… Instead, we were left helpless,” the company recounted, according to RedState’s Ward Clark. The company slammed the local government for failing to protect residents from TdA’s aggression.
The company’s statement contradicts that of Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, who contended that “Aurora is a considerably safe city – not a city overrun by Venezuelan gangs.”
Apparently, Coffman believes downplaying the experience residents have endured is the best course of action. After all, it’s much easier than actually doing something about the problem, isn’t it?
The gang’s growth in the U.S. has not only caused serious problems in local communities but has also highlighted concerns about the ongoing border crisis. TdA’s expansion has been linked to human trafficking. The group has exploited women seeking to gain entry into the country, pushing them into prostitution to pay off smuggling debts.
Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to take severe action against TdA. He promised to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target and dismantle every illegal immigrant criminal network operating on American soil.
The United States has been grappling with the border crisis since shortly after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office. The situation has worsened since then, which has allowed gangs like TdA to grow their operations in the United States.
