As reported here at the time, on March 21, 2024, hundreds of illegal migrants overwhelmed border security in El Paso, rioted, and ultimately clashed with the Texas National Guard. We don’t know how many actually got away during the fracas, but we do know that 211 were charged. They were turned over to ICE, which promptly released into the US 43 of them; others have been released since, while another 43 are said to have been deported.
Of those arrested, it now turns out that almost half — around 100 — were members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela. Those gang members who were arrested and released, along with others who have successfully entered the country in the meantime, have since established a presence in cities and town across America, from El Paso to New York; Chicago; Denver; Athens, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Utah County, Utah; Canyon County, Idaho; Praire du Chien, Wisconsin; and elsewhere.
The gang is involved in a host of violent and non-violent crimes everywhere, from purse snatching, high-end-store shoplifting, drug- and human-traficking, running protection rackets, all the way up to and including murder. Tren de Aragua has been described by officials as “MS-13 on steroids.”
Just a few days ago, the NY Post explored this very quick gang invasion in an article titled, “How migrant gang Tren de Aragua became a vicious criminal force across America: ‘They’re coming and they’re taking over.’”
For more, see the NY Post.