Tennessee is seeing a rise in human trafficking operations by Venezuelan gangs in four major cities

Tennessee Police are warning of a rise in Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang activity in their four major cities, with a top law enforcement official blaming the ‘porous’ southern border.

“This gang has exploited (the border),” David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said on “Fox & Friends.” Friday.

Rausch said the gang is on the run human trafficking operations and expanding into other criminal activities in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga.

“They go from human trafficking to theft to organized retail crime, and then move on to drug trafficking, taking on the cartels in very violent, bloody battles that they have had.”

New report warns bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang’s footprint will remain in US ‘for decades’

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch joined “Fox & Friends” to discuss Tren de Aragua’s gang activity in the four major cities in his state.

Rausch added that TdA has “zero respect” for police and has attacked law enforcement across the US. He added that the group was caught in a human trafficking operation two years ago, but has returned in recent years.

Rausch said law enforcement agencies are limited in their efforts to crack down on TdA-related activities, especially when suspects do not have immigration “detainees.”

‘If we come across them and they have a detainee with them, we can take them into custody. But apart from that, all we can do is check and ensure that they are not breaking the law. a challenge,” Rausch said, calling it a “cat and mouse game” that is becoming increasingly dangerous.

Rausch warned Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) during a budget hearing on the gang resurgence in Tennessee’s major cities.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The Department of Homeland Security recommended last month that more than 100 migrants it has identified as having possible ties to a bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang will be placed on an FBI watchlist, after the agency flagged a total of more than 600 with possible ties.

NBC News first reported that DHS has identified more than 600 individuals with possible ties to Tren de Aragua, and 100 of those are considered “persons of interest.” Fox has confirmed that it has recommended that they be placed on the FBI’s watchlist for transnational criminal organizations.

The gang is believed to have started in Tocoron Prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua and has since expanded to Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and the US. In a statement, DHS said the identities emerged as part of an ongoing rescreening effort to target the gang.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.