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    • TBI says Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang is in Tennessee. What we know
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    TBI says Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang is in Tennessee. What we know

    Online Niel Posted on

    The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is warning residents of the presence of a violent Venezuelan street gang called the Tren de Aragua.

    TBI Director David Rausch said information gathered by the agency suggests the gang is in Tennessee after previously being believed to have disappeared following previous arrests.

    “I don’t think we’re at the point where everybody has to watch outside their homes for this infiltration,” Rausch said in a video posted on the department. YouTube page. “It is a level of concern for the police that this group is active. I’m in Tennessee.”

    The goal, Rausch said, is to stop the gang in its tracks so they don’t spread their crime syndicate before escalating into a turf war against drug cartels for control of drug trafficking in Tennessee.

    There have been no reports of gang activity in Nashville or nearby counties in Middle Tennessee.

    The Metro Nashville Police Department and Franklin Police say they have not reported any arrests of Tren de Aragua members.

    “This police department is well aware of Tren de Aragua and the criminal activity associated with its members. We have a heightened awareness for any such activity seen here,” MNPD said in an emailed statement.

    Rausch said the gang is not exclusive to Tennessee. He said the gang has a national presence and is quickly becoming a national problem.

    In September, rumors spread that Tren de Aragua was running an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. The The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to NewsNation that the men seen in a video were Venezuelan gang members.

    In a post on Xformerly known as Twitter, the city confirmed a “small presence of the Tren de Aragua gang in Aurora.

    President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly denied claims during an Oct. 11 rally in Aurora that the city had become a “war zone” overrun by violent Venezuelan gang members.

    Tennessee is no stranger to traffic either.

    In November 2010, 29 people were indicted in the Middle District of Tennessee after a multi-agency investigation into a Somali gang.

    Through 2021, Governor Bill Lee and Tennessee lawmakers have dedicated additional resources and man hours to reduce traffic, with nine total agents assigned to each of the TBI regions.

    Tennessee has seen an increase in human trafficking calls and tips, from 245 in 2016 to an estimated 1,375 in 2023.

    More: Michael Jordan’s scooter robberies and tattoos. Has this Venezuelan gang invaded the US?

    Most of the 2023 tips, 361, came from the state’s Middle District. There were 307 in the Eastern District, 265 in the Western and 183 in the Eastern District. The most popular form of trafficking in Tennessee involved minors, the data show. And there were 101 arrests made through various police operations, the 2023 report said.

    “A lot of those law enforcement officials and police officials haven’t seen what we know is out there, and that’s because of the complexity of the intelligence gathering,” Rausch said. “We at TBI are the lead human trafficking agency in the state of Tennessee, so a lot of our operations involve these types of people.”

    Rausch also noted that the group is violent toward police.

    USA TODAY contributed to this story.

    Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at [email protected] and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription at www.tennessean.com.

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