A member of the Venezuelan gang "Tren de Aragua" was responsible for the shooting of two police officers in New York back in June. Members of the same gang are being accused of illegal activity at an apartment complex in Aurora, CO recently as well as Chicago.

Rumors of the complex being run by the Tren de Aragua, a large criminal organization from Venezuela, began circulating when a video went viral of men carrying guns and entering the apartments. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to NewsNation that the men seen in the video were Tren de Aragua members. -usatoday.com

Who is Tren de Aragua?

Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal gang that originated in a Venezuela prison and has slowly made its way south and north in recent years. They say it’s now operating in the United States. 

The scale of its operations is unknown, but crimes attributed to alleged members of the gang have worried elected officials and some Republican members of Congress have asked the Biden administration “to formally designate the vicious Tren de Aragua as a Transnational Criminal Organization.” -cnn.com

Will the nefarious behavior of Tren de Aragua land here in Massachusetts? We hope not, but they should be on our radar. The intention is not to fear monger, but transparency about domestic threats is paramount.

Gang activity is no stranger to Massachusetts as the Feds recently charged 19 Boston gang members (H Block gang and Mission Hill gang) for drug conspiracy

“Keeping communities safe involves combatting a number of different types of threats.  The fight to keep our streets safe from dangerous gangs and drugs is an ever-constant struggle and, as this case shows, extends to our state’s prison facilities. Today’s arrests are an important step forward in making our streets and prisons safer,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy -dea.gov