Dangerous Venezuelan gang is in 'every major city' in Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – State leaders are warning about a dangerous gang that has formed in prisons in Venezuela called Tren de Aragua which has been spotted in all major cities in Tennessee.

TBI Director David Rausch said the gang is known for human trafficking and illegally bringing Venezuelan women into the United States and Tennessee.

Addressing Governor Bill Lee on Tuesday, Rausch said the gang was active in the state in 2023 but had been inactive for more than a year after that. arrests were made. However, in recent months, Rausch said there has been a resurgence in activity.

“They are back in all our major cities. They run human trafficking operations, and that’s where they start,” Rausch said.

The TBI director added that this gang is not only known for human trafficking, but also for organized shoplifting and drug crimes.

In some cases, members of Tren de Aragua have been known to clash directly with members of the cartel, which has escalated to crimes as serious as murder at any time of the day, according to the TBI.

“They will not hesitate to attack their opponents in public or in broad daylight,” Rausch said.

Although Rausch said this gang has recently been spotted in every major city and metropolitan area in the state, local police in Knoxville have seen none.

Knoxville police and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said they have not yet seen any known members of Tren de Aragua in their jurisdiction, but that they are aware of the gang’s existence and are closely monitoring any possible activity keep an eye on it.

TBI officials said gang members used to be easily noticed with different tattoos, but lately they have noticed members moving away from the universal tattoos, which has made it more difficult for investigators to spot a member of the gang.

Rausch made it clear to Governor Lee that TDA is no more likely to cause violence in Tennessee than it is in other states, and that he is working to alert agencies in other states to the gang’s progress.

Tren de Aragua originated as a prison gang in Aragua, Venezuela, and has expanded rapidly across the Western Hemisphere in recent years, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

The Treasury’s Bureau of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned TDA as a transnational criminal organization in July 2024.