New York police are facing a worrying increase in violent crimes committed by Venezuelan migrants who recently arrived in the city. Authorities report that suspected members of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua have crossed the southern border into the United States during the last two years.
NYPD Deputy Chief of Detectives Jason Savino, in an interview with FOX 5 NY’s Linda Schmidt, presented a recruiting video of suspected criminals. In the images, the foreigners are seen displaying weapons and making gang signs in what appears to be Ecuador, but are later seen in Times Square.
Police officials, according to the outlet, claim that these individuals have arrived in the United States along with the largest influx of migrants and are settling in New York City.
“What we see is that they are trying to grow,” the detective stated.
Initially, the gang members’ crimes included shoplifting and stealing cell phones and jewelry, but now the incidents have escalated to street shootouts.
The Aragua Train would be carrying weapons to the shelters
Bernardo Raúl Castro-Mata, a Venezuelan migrant accused of shooting two New York police officers during a traffic stop, confessed that gang members ordered him to shoot.
In court, Queens Deputy District Attorney Lauren Reilly said Mata revealed that Aragua Train members are smuggling firearms into city shelters inside food packages that do not pass through metal detectors. points out FOX 5 NY.
Jason Savino also said gangs are expanding into drug trafficking. “We’re starting to see a drug called tusi, a pink substance similar to cocaine. We’re just starting to see it,” Savino said.
“It is the biggest challenge we have ever faced,” he admitted.
Who is the boss of the Aragua Train?
The head of the bloodthirsty Tren de Aragua gang is Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known by his alias Niño Guerrero. This subject could be hiding in the United States, according to a report last February The New York Post citing security authorities, but to date there is no information that confirms these speculations.
The gang, known for its initial expansion across Latin America in countries such as Colombia, Chile and Peru, is responsible for numerous serious crimes in Venezuela, including extortion, drug trafficking, kidnappings and murders.
“Law enforcement officials say the gang’s leader, Hector Guerrero, escaped from prison after a Venezuelan military raid last year and may be hiding in the United States,” the newspaper reported.
Media, experts and organizations have indicated that Guerrero, for whom the Venezuelan Ministry of the Interior, Justice and Peace offers a reward of $250,000, gave orders to his organization from the Tocorón prison, in the state of Aragua.
However, hours before a large police and military operation in that detention center last September, he managed to escape and since then there has been no information about his whereabouts.
Keep reading:
• Bail set at $10 million for undocumented immigrant accused of killing 12-year-old girl in Texas
• Former mayor of Venezuela granted asylum in the US gave an alarming warning about the Aragua Train
• A member of the Tren de Aragua gang wanted by Peruvian authorities was arrested in New York
• The Aragua Train, a new cause of friction between Venezuela and its regional neighbors