The feared Venezuelan criminal organisation, Tren de Aragua, which is known for its involvement in sex trafficking, human smuggling, and drug dealing, has infiltrated New York City, according to The New York Post. The influential surge of the gang coincides with an influx of migrants within the last two years.

The Tren de Aragua has not been around for long, but it is terrorising the inhabitants with armed members riding mopeds. They have had involvements in illegal gun sales, and the armed outfit even manages to function right under the noses of security guards at private shelters. The gang also runs prostitution rings in neighbourhoods most severely affected by the influx of migrants.

NYPost reported that the gang is also selling Tussi, or “pink cocaine,” a deadly mixture of fentanyl, complicating the list of dangers from which they operate. Tren de Aragua’s explosive growth tends to overwhelm not only ordinary New Yorkers but the police force of the city as well. The racket’s actions appear to have diminished the safety of the residents, which is a vital challenge to the law enforcement agency.

“Not every migrant is here to commit crimes; not every migrant is a gang member,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told The Post. “But these TDA guys hide very well in plain sight in the migrant community.

“We aren’t looking to grab the food delivery guy, but these guys go so far as to wear Uber Eats clothing and [use] the delivery bags while they’re out there committing their crimes,” the chief told The Post. “When we do arrest them, they are very eager to talk about the crime they have committed.

The gang, whose name means “train from Aragua” (a state in north-central Venezuela) in Spanish, now runs citywide theft and robbery crews that have terrorised neighbourhoods.

Police Emphasise That Venezuelan Gang Has Not Taken Control of the City

Meanwhile, reacting to the popular narrative about gangs having “taken over” the city, Aurora Police Department Chief Todd Chamberlain has said, “I can tell you right now, gangs are not in control of the city of Aurora. If you walk away with anything, that’s what I will say. Are there gangs in the city of Aurora? Yes. There are. Are there gangs in most major cities throughout the United States? 100% there are.”

“This is not an immigration issue. It’s a crime issue,” said chief Chamberlain during the press conference. “That is for the federal [government]. The immigration aspect is for the federal, it’s for what they focus on. It’s what they’ve done. It’s what comes out of federal government. It comes out of the White House.”

New York City:

The ‘American dream’ has triggered a big crisis in New York. The quest for a better life and more opportunities has thousands of immigrants moving to the Big Apple. But at what cost? A housing crisis and a big burden on the administration.

New York City received 118,000 migrants since last year, over 60,000 of them housed in the city’s shelter system. But officials are struggling to respond to their needs.

Mayor Eric Adams has called it a humanitarian crisis that could “destroy New York City”.

Most migrants came to New York from countries in South America and West Africa in hopes of safety, work and stability. But integrating them into a new city isn’t an easy task – both for the migrants and the administration.

The migrants are typically housed in hotels, office buildings and school gyms. The city administration has been paying for budget hotels to house them, but it is now running out of housing options.

The migrant influx could cost $12 billion over three years, claims Mayor Adams who has previously looked into housing migrants in parking lots and cruise ships.

Eric Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul have both blamed the Joe Biden’s administration for not providing enough support for the migrant crisis.

New Yorkers, aware of the acute crisis, seek a humanitarian approach to the issue and strategic allocation of resources.

“I’m not sure if New York is a good place to be for somebody who wants to start afresh. There’s a huge housing crisis, so maybe, it’s not the perfect place for immigrants,” opines a woman, an immigrant herself.

Some others think the “American dream” is turning out to be a “nightmare”, but still a lot can be done to help them.

“It’s a crisis even for the people migrating to New York. They are coming from horrible places and switching for opportunities – just like the American dream from so many years ago. The American dream is actually being an American nightmare.New York has very limited space but also a lot of fun space. If we allocate some of those places to help the migrants, that’ll be awesome,” says a New Yorker.

Besides housing, the migrants are also facing difficulties in finding work as well. Before they can officially start working, they must get a work permit which can take up to six months to process. Without a permit, they can only work as undocumented workers, who are often overworked and underpaid.