How Bloodthirsty Venezuelan Gang Tren de Aragua Used NYC Migrant Shelters to Build a Criminal Empire: ‘Hiding in plain sight’; How Migrant Gang Tren de Aragua is Luring Women into Forced Prostitution in 8 States — Including Along NYC’s ‘Market of Sweethearts’

How bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua used NYC migrant shelters to build a criminal empire: ‘Hiding in plain sight’:

In little more than a year, a once-obscure South American street gang has taken hold in the Big Apple, exploiting the migrant crisis to build a violent criminal enterprise from within the walls of city shelters.

Tren de Aragua, a Venezuela-bred crew of thugs, now terrorize Gotham with gun-toting, moped-riding hoods, sell illegal guns under the very noses of private shelter security guards, and run sleazy prostitution rings in neighborhoods suddenly besieged by the marauding migrants.

The gang, which also peddles a lethal fentanyl mix called Tussi or “pink cocaine,” has grown so fast that it has so far overwhelmed both average New Yorkers and the city’s elite police force.

“Not every migrant is here to commit crimes, not every migrant is a gang member,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. “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, [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.

“They are unwilling to talk about TDA itself.”

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 terrorized neighborhoods.

In Jackson Heights, a stretch of Roosevelt Avenue dubbed the “Market of Sweethearts” has become a testament to TDA’s muscle and influence, with vendors peddling stolen items and an open-air red light district that has migrant hookers walking the streets day and night.

A 24-hour brothel raided by the NYPD last week may have ties to the gang, sources said. —>READ MORE HERE

How migrant gang Tren de Aragua is luring women into forced prostitution in 8 states — including along NYC’s ‘Market of Sweethearts’:

The vicious Venezuelan migrant gang Tren de Aragua is luring desperate women deep into the heart of the US, forcing them to sell their bodies on the streets of American cities to pay off exorbitant smuggling fees, a newly leaked law enforcement document obtained by The Post reveals.

At least eight states have seen an explosion in migrant prostitution since the gang laid down roots in the US, with authorities in Texas, Nevada, Illinois, California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York now fighting to curtail the sex trade, the memo shows.

And the victims may be operating out in the open on the streets of New York City. On Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, sex workers and madams openly ply their trade on sidewalks.

It’s called the “Market of Sweethearts” — and it’s bustling every day of the week. One suspected brothel operates openly across from two elementary schools, with parents walking their kids past the seedy joint’s hawker as they head to class.

Law enforcement sources in New York said the storefront brothels are suspected of having ties to Tren de Aragua — which recruits members and victims out of city migrant shelters.

In the Big Apple, Tren de Aragua is trying to recruit foot soldiers to force women into sex trafficking — in the hopes that it will become a main source of income for the gang, according to the leaked memo.

For so many women caught up in the vicious cycle of sex trafficking, the promise of a life in the US is nothing more than an inescapable prison sentence, according to the memo, which was circulated to federal and local law enforcement agencies around the country.

“Once their fee is paid, they are allegedly free to go,” the memo said. “For some women, the debt is almost impossible to pay off due to penalty fees added by TdA members as punishment.” —>READ MORE HERE

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