DHS warns that violent Venezuelan gang ‘Tren de Aragua’ is expanding in the D.C. area

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A wooden panel displays the seal of the Department of Homeland Security. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

washington – The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin to law enforcement in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia about the outlawed Venezuelan criminal gang known as the ‘Tren de Aragua’ that is growing in both size and violence throughout the region.

DHS domestic intelligence memo regarding the gang, New York Post. The statement states that Tren de Aragua has been linked to crimes in at least sixteen states across the country and that his “violent tendencies” are increasing.

“What sets this group apart from others is the level of violence,” said former DEA agent Wes Tabor. Associated Press. “They are aggressive, they are hungry and they know no borders because so far they have been allowed to spread their wings without any conflict with law enforcement.”

But this is starting to change. Biden administration in July approved the gangputting it next to MS-13 from El Salvador and Italy’s Mafia-style Camorra are on the list of transnational criminal organizations and are offering a $12 million reward for the arrest of three leaders.

The Homeland Security memo says gang members are now moving into the D.C. area, where they can commit burglaries, robberies and assaults, targeting nearby suburbs of northern Virginia.

Tren de Aragua has been linked to arrests in retail theft and counterfeit ID stings in Fairfax, according to a Homeland Security bulletin. The suspects in these crimes all had signature tattoos that linked them to the gang. DHS says there have also been cases of gang-related forced labor.

New York Post reporter Jennie Taer, who covers outlaw gangs, tells FOX 5 this is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Their crimes include attacks on police officers, seizure of apartments, seizure of hotels, arms smuggling and ATM frauds. They gamble with their crimes,” Taer said.

The gang emerged more than a decade ago in an infamously lawless prison for notorious criminals in the central state of Aragua and has expanded in recent years as more than 8 million desperate Venezuelans have fled an economic crisis, according to the Associated Press. Administration of President Nicolás Maduro.

There are concerns about their brutal tactics reaching US shores as members infiltrate the nearly 1 million Venezuelan immigrants who have crossed into the US in recent years.

In Loudoun County, Sheriff Mike Chapman told FOX 5 they haven’t identified the gang in their jurisdiction, but he has a message for them.

“Don’t come here because we’re going to lock you up and whatever you do here, we’re going to catch you, you’re going to serve your time and then you’re going to be sent back to where you came from,” said Chapman.

D.C. has been labeled a sanctuary city by the incoming Trump administration, which has vowed to use the U.S. military to deport illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.