Leadership from the American Sheriff Alliance has demanded that the threat from a Venezuelan-based gang against U.S. law enforcement be addressed with action.
According to an August 13 press release from the American Sheriff Alliance, the gang, known as Tren de Aragua (TDA), “had issued a ‘green light’ to its members to attack and fire upon U.S. law enforcement officers.”
“TDA participates in human smuggling and trafficking, kidnapping, extortion schemes, and moving illicit narcotics in their areas of operation,” continues the press release.
TDA began in the Venezuelan prison system and has grown to over 5,000 members, with many of its members having entered the United States. The U.S. Treasury has designated TDA as a transnational criminal organization.
“When we allow a brutal and violent gang, like TDA, to operate in the United States, we have failed in terms of border security,” said Sheriff Kieran Donahue, the National Sheriff’s Association president.
“TDA is the latest example where failed policies have allowed violent gangs and criminal cartels into our country who subsequently commit heinous acts of violence and cause fear in our communities,” continued Donahue.
One such example offered in the press release was a jewelry heist by TDA gang members that resulted in a brutal attack against multiple women in Denver on June 24.
A security video shows multiple men unlawfully entering the store’s rear area, where the gang members repeatedly struck and pistol-whipped two female employees and then forcibly pulled the women across the room by their hair. Two more men were observed using guns to threaten others, jumping over the counter, and grabbing jewelry from the shelf and display case, reported The Denver Post.
The jewelry store, Joyería El Ruby, is a family-owned business that has been operating for 24 years, according to Fox 31.
The lack of border security is opening doors for more violence against Americans.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported more than 8 million encounters with illegal aliens along the southern border since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office in 2021. The House Committee on Homeland Security reports, however, that this number is higher as approximately 1.7 million migrants have entered the U.S. without being caught or recorded, resulting in an unknown total number of undocumented entries, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
“Since U.S. Customs and Border Protection had its first apprehension of a TDA member in March 2023, there have been 70 additional apprehensions within the United States. The total number of TDA members operating in the United States is unknown due to the number of ‘got-a-ways’ entering the country, as well as those who may have been recruited domestically since TDA has showed its presence in the country,” reads the American Sheriff Alliance press release.
The American Sheriff Alliance endorsed in its press release the U.S. State Department’s offer of rewards totaling $12 million for information leading to the apprehension of TDA gang leaders.