President-elect Donald Trump’s new border czar, Tom Homan, tells NewsNation’s Ali Bradley criminal gangs like Tren de Aragua will be his “priority target,” and he will root them out once he takes office.
“We’ve been saying from Day 1 that the priority right out of the gate is public safety threats and national security threats. Tren de Aragua is a public safety threat,” Homan said. “They have proven that they’re in at least 16 states across this country, and they’ll be a priority.”
Tren de Aragua is a gang that started in a prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua nearly a decade ago. It’s since expanded into what the Justice Department calls a “transnational criminal organization.”
The gang has spread to 16 U.S. states, according to a New York Post report citing an internal Department of Homeland Security memo. The Venezuelan gang is the fastest-growing transnational criminal organization, in part because the U.S. government cannot track criminal records in Venezuela. As such, members of the gang are more easily able to blend in with law-abiding migrants.
In Colorado, Aurora police have acknowledged that “components of Tren de Aragua” are operating in the area and have identified at least 10 known members.
Homan vowed to “remove them” and says he’s been working with state and law enforcement to monitor the gang’s activity.