Tren de Aragua gang, known for trafficking people and targeting police, infiltrates D.C. region
A Homeland Security Department memo states that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has set up shop in the capital of the country.
In a memo sent to Virginia police officials on November 14, it is stated that the criminal organization, known for targeting police officers and trafficking in humans, has established a strong presence in parts of Central and Northern Virginia as well as the District of Columbia. The increase in crime is a result of the growing number of migrants in the area.
According to the memo, which was first reported by New York Post as “highly likely”, TDA will have a greater influence on the region, with more Venezuelans moving there.
The memo stated that it was difficult to confirm criminals as TDA.
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Tren de Aragua, after crossing the porous border to the south, has established outposts throughout metropolitan areas in all of Mexico. The gang doesn’t hesitate to announce its arrival.
The group has taken over apartment buildings in Denver suburbs and established a prostitution network after capturing an El Paso hotel.
TDA has bumped into gangs in Chicago and alleged gang members opened fire on New York City police.
David B. Rausch told Fox News, last week, that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has operations for human trafficking in four of the major cities of Tennessee: Memphis, Nashville Knoxville, and Chattanooga.
He said TDA member recently recorded and posted a video of “they shot 31 times a cartel in broad daylight” on social media. The TBI Director said he expected the gang will engage in more retail thefts before it expands into the drug business.
The police have linked individual gangs to violent acts, like the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley in February. Jose Ibarra is accused of strangling and hitting the woman’s head with a stone after he pulled her off a trail.
The Homeland Security Department memo stated that the documented incidents involving TDA in the National Capital Region were tame by comparison.
Fairfax County Police arrested 3 suspected TDA members for shoplifting in August 2023.
In the memo, it was noted that Rogelio Solorzano and Williams Lucena Martinez had tattoos often associated with gang members.
Fairfax County Police said that Mr. Lucena Martnez has a court appearance scheduled for Wednesday in relation to the charge of shoplifting.
Mr. Noriega Solorzano and Mr. Alvarez Alvarado have active bench warrants for skipping court appearances.
He said that he did not know if the Department had issued detainers for either man from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fairfax County is like many other Virginia suburbs in the District of Columbia, a “sanctuary county” that does not comply with federal immigration arrest warrants, except for serious crimes.
The memo referred to a hotel owner in northwest Virginia who, as part of a debt bondage scheme, forced Venezuelan migrants to work for him beginning January 2023. The memo did not mention the type or amount of debt.
According to the federal memo, limited reports indicate that TDA members from the District of Columbia will travel to Virginia in order to commit thefts and robberies.
Officials say the gang uses small thefts and fraud schemes to generate money and send it back to its operatives in South America.
The footprint of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in Washington puts it on a collision path with the violent crime group MS-13 from El Salvador.
Since the MS-13’s activities in the area reached a low point about 10 years ago, the gang has increased its drug-running, extortion schemes and brutal killings.
Last month, a federal jury convicted MS-13 member Elmer De Jesus Alas candray of murder in connection with five murders that occurred between 2018 and 2022.
Alas Candray, along with other gangsters, shot and chopped a victim in Reston, Virginia. Three years later the killer was involved in a murder that saw a victim beaten to death by a baseball bat.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, and Arlington County Police have said that they do not have any documented interactions with TDA members.
According to a spokesperson from the Virginia State Police, the Prince William County Police and Virginia State Police are both investigating the incident.
The Washington Times contacted D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to ask if ICE’s Washington Field Office had deported any Tren de Aragua suspects since the start of 2023.
“A law enforcement source confirmed that MPD has not had any internal communications regarding the Venezuelan gang, but noted that MPD is typically way behind in things like this.”
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