The notorious Venezuelan gang that has been gaining national attention recently has now appeared in southern Arizona.
The Cochise county sheriff’s office tells me they recently arrested a suspected member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua tied to a human smuggling case. Now adding Arizona to the list of areas this dangerous gang is turning up.
"It’s very troubling this is also the first time that I've heard of an official Tren de Aragua gang member being found in Arizona," Rep. Juan Ciscomani said.
Congressman Juan Ciscomani represents Cochise County. He’s worried seeing the growing reach of a notorious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua.
The criminal organization has been getting a lot of attention recently after this video of alleged members of the gang armed with automatic weapons took over a Colorado hotel.
They’ve been tied to several violent incidents across the country. In august the American sheriff alliance issued a warning that members of the gang may be targeting members of law enforcement.
The gang has become a key talking point for the Donald Trump presidential campaign to highlight what it claims to be a failure at the border under the Biden administration.
A position Ciscomani agrees with.
“This is what we’ve been saying this entire time, this open border invites people like that to come in and conduct their criminal activity here," Rep. Ciscomani said.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office wouldn’t identify the suspected gang member but said he’s 25 and slipped through the border in Texas claiming asylum and was tied to human smuggling here in Cochise County.
Our sister station Telemundo Arizona spoke with a Venezuelan migrant who says the gang causes fear within their own community.
“This would scare anyone, but we've gone through this in our own country and we know what they're capable of.”
News 4 Tucson spoke to several Cochise county residents all knew the name Tren de Aragua.
“I've heard of them, I think these gangs it’s getting ridiculous there’s getting to be so many gangs in the united states it’s unbelievable," Doug Rohde, Benson resident said.
"These kids get over here, they join gangs we deport them they come back, until we get term limits, we are dealing with corruption on both sides of the fence," Karen Boaz, Benson resident said.
News 4 Tucson spoke with officials from Customs and Border Protection, they tell me they have no intel of any activity from Tren de Aragua operating between borders within the Tucson Sector.
But again, the suspected member arrested here came in through Texas showing how they can easily travel nationwide.
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