Violent South American Gang in the United States Represents a Moral Misconception

Human trafficking, extortion, murder – these are some of the crimes associated with the Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal organization that torments countries like Venezuela, Colombia and Chile.

You can add the United States to this list.

CNN reported Sunday morning that federal officials say this violent criminal organization has entered the United States. This illegal immigrant who shot two police officers About a week ago, New York City had tattoos associated with the gang.

Tren de Aragua is “the most disruptive criminal organization currently operating in Latin America,” according to Oscar Naranjo, former head of the Colombian National Police.

The U.S. State Department's 2023 report on human trafficking in Colombia says Tren de Aragua and a rival criminal gang “operate sex trafficking networks in the border city of Villa del Rosario, in the Norte de Santander department.” These groups exploit Venezuelan migrants and internally displaced Colombians in sex trafficking, take advantage of economic vulnerabilities, and subject them to debt bondage.

THE The shootings in New York, allegations of human trafficking “hides” in various states, and the kidnapping and murder of a former Venezuelan police officer make it clear that this lawless gang has already begun to cause damage to American communities.

Don't believe me. Several Venezuelan immigrants told CNN that they are already seeing criminal behavior in their new American neighborhoods similar to that which caused them to flee their home country.

These criminals and their disturbing nature raise a rhetorical question: how did they get here?

President Joe Biden and so many others on the left have given in to this ideological narrative that the United States has a moral responsibility to open its borders to foreigners. Many asylum seekers, like those who spoke to CNN, are truly escaping poverty, crime and persecution in their home countries.

But with Colombia's most violent criminal organization actively wreaking havoc in American cities, it's hard to listen to the whole argument that “if you don't agree with me, you are racist.”

This brutal description comes from the head of the US Border Patrol, Jason Owens, who confirmed the arrest of numerous suspected Tren de Aragua members at the southern border.

Between fiscal year 2023 and last May, Texas Customs and Border Protection identified 58 people as members of the Tren de Aragua gang. And those are just the ones we know.

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Last March, several Republican members of Congress urged the Biden administration “to officially designate the vicious Tren de Aragua as a transnational criminal organization.”

Of course, this effort won't lead to anything tangible, but it is a step in the right direction toward protecting the public.