The Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua — a feared criminal organization that concentrates on sex trafficking, human smuggling and drug dealing — has emerged in New York City amid the surge of migrants in the last two years. I asked my colleague Luis Ferré-Sadurní, who, with Chelsia Rose Marcius, wrote about Tren de Aragua’s arrival in New York, to explain what officials are doing about the gang’s widening presence.
What do officials in New York blame Tren de Aragua for? Have the gang’s activities affected the crime statistics the police compile and release?
The Police Department has said that the gang is behind a string of thefts in retail stores, and that it has especially targeted high-end merchandise in department stores. The police have also connected Tren de Aragua to ride-by robberies that officials say gang members pull off on scooters, snatching cellphones and expensive watches from people on the street.
Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has said there has been an increase in scooter-related robbery patterns since more migrants began arriving in the city two years ago. The police reported 415 incidents at the beginning of June. As of Sept. 10, that number has doubled, according to Joseph Kenny, the Police Department’s chief of detectives.
Not all of those incidents are related to Tren de Aragua, Chief Kenny said. The gang has also been linked to a handful of high-profile crimes. In June, a 19-year-old Venezuelan migrant who the police said admitted he was a member of Tren de Aragua was accused of shooting two police officers when they tried to pull him over while he was riding a scooter.
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