A brutal Venezuelan gang that has used the border crisis to set up in New York could join forces with the feared MS-13, a senior FBI agent has told The Post.
Tren de Aragua, which law enforcement is warning is rapidly expanding its criminal empire with a spate of brazen phone robberies in the five boroughs, is a priority for the FBI, agent John Morales said.
Morales, the special agent in charge of the El Paso division in Texas, said the agency is closely monitoring Tren de Aragua’s growth and is concerned about it forming alliances with existing networks.
The Post revealed Monday how the Venezuelan gang, which established a bloody crime network across South America, is replicating its methods in New York, recruiting among new migrants at shelters to set up cellphone robbery gangs — and using its international reach to traffic the phones to Colombia to be resold.
Now Morales is warning that it, MS-13 and other gangs could become temporary allies — and said the FBI is actively sharing intelligence about Tren de Aragua.
“While these gangs wouldn’t normally mix, it’s always going to be a concern as the gang [Tren de Aragua] expands in strength and establishes a foothold,” Morales said in an exclusive interview with The Post.
“Right now we are working with our local law enforcement partners and sharing intelligence in order to stop the growth of Tren de Aragua.”
Gang members generally pass through border cities, such as El Paso, en route to other parts of the US, said Morales.
Border Patrol agents apprehended 41 Tren de Aragua members along the US southern border between October 2022 and September 2023 — and the FBI is asking Venezuelan migrants to report gang members, offering them anonymity through the FBI’s 1-800-CALL-FBI tipline. --->READ MORE HERE
Venezuela's most violent gang and Latin America's most-feared armed group could join forces in New York City, a senior FBI agent has warned.
The FBI is concerned with El Tren de Aragua linking up with other criminal networks such as the notorious MS-13, Special Agent in Charge of the El Paso division John Morales told the New York Post.
Members of El Tren de Aragua have reportedly made their way to New York City after crossing the US-Mexico border - and have already unleashed their criminal schemes, including brazen phone robberies across the city's boroughs.
'While these gangs wouldn’t normally mix, it’s always going to be a concern as the [Tren de Aragua] expands in strength and establishes a foothold' Morales said.
'Right now we are working with our local law enforcement partners and sharing intelligence in order to stop the growth of Tren de Aragua.'
MS-13, one of the largest gangs operating in the US, got its start as a neighborhood street gang in Los Angeles, but grew into a transnational gang based in El Salvador. It has members in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico and thousands of members across the United States with numerous branches, or 'cliques,' according to federal authorities.
Meanwhile NYC officials have said the feared Tren de Aragua could be connected to a the brazen thieves on mopeds who have been snatching the phones and purses of innocent pedestrians as part of a larger crime conspiracy surrounding stolen iPhones.
NYPD detectives believe the organized robbery scheme is linked to El Tren de Aragua, which they fear has been sending its gangsters to cross the US-Mexico border as part of a wave of asylum seekers, the New York Post reported.
Last week officials raided the Bronx home of the alleged leader of the operation, Victor Parra, 30, who officials say issued calls for stolen phones on What's App, offering money for migrants to bring the stolen devices to him.
Once he had the devices, a hacker would break into people's Apple Pays and empty their accounts, before the criminals sent the phones to Colombia to be reprogrammed and sold. --->READ MORE HERE
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