DHS warns of violent Venezuelan gang 'Tren de Aragua' expanding in DC area

WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security has issued a bulletin to law enforcement across D.C., Maryland and Virginia concerning an illegal Venezuelan criminal gang known as ‘Tren de Aragua’ that is growing in both size and violence across the region. 

The DHS internal intelligence memo concerning the gang was obtained by the New York Post. The memo states that Tren de Aragua has been connected to crimes in at least sixteen states across the country and is increasing in its "violent tendencies."

"What sets this group apart is the level of violence," former DEA agent Wes Tabor told The Associated Press. "They’re aggressive, they’re hungry and they don’t know any boundaries because they’ve been allowed to spread their wings without any confrontation from law enforcement until now."

But that’s starting to change. In July, the Biden administration sanctioned the gang, placing it alongside MS-13 from El Salvador and the Mafia-styled Camorra from Italy on a list of transnational criminal organizations and offering $12 million in rewards for the arrest of three leaders.

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

According to the Homeland Security bulletin, Tren de Aragua has been connected to arrests in retail theft, and counterfeit ID operations in Fairfax. The suspects in those crimes all had signature tattoos connecting them to the gang. There are also forced labor cases connected to the gang, DHS says.  

A Department of Homeland Security seal is shown against a wood panel. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Jennie Taer, a New York Post reporter who covers illegal gangs tells FOX 5 that’s the tip of the iceberg.

"Their crimes span from attacks on cops, apartment takeovers, hotel takeovers, gun smuggling and ATM scams. They run the gambit with their crimes," Taer said.

The gang originated more than a decade ago in an infamously lawless prison with hardened criminals in the central state of Aragua, according to the Associated Press, and has expanded in recent years as more than 8 million desperate Venezuelans fled economic turmoil under President Nicolás Maduro’s rule.

Now, there are concerns about its ruthless tactics reaching U.S. shores as members infiltrate the nearly 1 million Venezuelan migrants who have crossed into the U.S. in recent years.

In Loudoun County, Sheriff Mike Chapman tells FOX 5 they have not identified the gang in their jurisdiction but he has a message for them.

"Don’t come here because we are going to lock you up and we’re going to get you for whatever you do here, you’re going to do your time and then you’re going to get shipped back to wherever you came from," Chapman said. 

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

The Associated Press contributed to this story.