A congressman whose district is along the southern border is warning about the dangers posed by a bloodthirsty Venezuelan street gang whose presence has grown in the United States amid the ongoing migrant crisis.
“This gang in several years is going to be the dominant transnational criminal organization throughout the United States. There’s no doubt in my mind,” Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
Last month, a CBP source provided Fox with an internal intelligence bulletin revealing tattoos and identifiers for Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuelan street gang. Members of that gang have been entering the U.S. illegally through the southern border.
The gang drew additional attention when it emerged that the brother of the suspect in the killing of Georgia student Laken Riley had ties to the gang. Both are Venezuelan illegal immigrants.
OPINION: VENEZUELAN GANGS ARE IMPORTING NEXT-LEVEL BRUTALITY, FEAR TO OUR STREETS
TdA is said to specialize in extortion, kidnapping, murder and sex trafficking. Federal authorities have been warning that the gang is trying to establish itself in the U.S., where police are already linking it to organized crime. The FBI has also warned that the gang could team up with the bloodthirsty MS-13.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
“They’re very vicious. They have no rules. They gobble up territory almost like a cancer,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales, who represents a majority Hispanic district, says the arrivals are part of a change in the flow of immigration across the border.
“Immigration isn’t new to us. We’ve lived it for decades, but it’s no longer Mexican nationals coming over looking for work,” Gonzales said. “It’s no longer passive people just trying to kind of mosey about their business. It is a different element of people.
“They’re more aggressive, they’re demanding and they’re culturally not the same. And that’s why, once again, a district 70% Hispanic, the people in my district had enough. They’re like, ‘To hell with these people. They’re coming over. I don’t feel safe. They’re very aggressive.’ And you know what? If someone knocked on my door and they had face tattoos with teardrops … I probably wouldn’t feel safe either.”
BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN GANG TREN DE ARAGUA SETS UP SHOP IN US AS BORDER AUTHORITIES SOUND ALARM
On visits to the border in the El Paso Sector, he said, officials had told him migrants will be afraid of TdA members when in detention. He also pointed to oil thefts in other parts of the border.
He said the response should be “immediate repercussions.”
“So Border Patrol has to have the tools where they can vet some of these people far more than what is happening,” Gonzales said, warning that people are just “cycling through.”
He also said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has to be strong and nationally present.
“You have to have ICE have the ability to go around and actively hunt these criminal aliens that have committed crimes, hunt them down and deport them,” Gonzales said. “That has to happen. And when it does happen, it can’t happen in a vacuum. People have to know what’s happening. And it can’t just happen in one part of the country. It has to happen throughout the country.”
He also called for a “seamless” mission and cooperation between local, state and federal officials.
“And I think the communities that do that, I think Texas will be at the forefront of this,” Gonzales said. “The communities that do that will be the ones that do not have this issue years from now.”
