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WASHINGTON (TNND) — Top immigration officials say those who live in and
around New York City are safer, after multiple arrests in a major criminal
case there. It involves the transnational gang, "Tren de Aragua," now designated as a terrorist organization, which for more than a year has
been accused of wreaking havoc in the city.

One of the first criminal acts linked to the group occurred in January
2024. Surveillance video captured the beating of police officers by
suspected TdA members in Times Square. Now, a months-long criminal case
has resulted in 27 indictments, with 21 of those suspects in custody.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House Wednesday, Border Czar Tom
Homan said, "The underlying offenses were sex trafficking, gun
trafficking, drug trafficking, murder for hire. We seized a lot of weapons
and rescued some victims of sex trafficking."

On Tuesday, during a news conference revealing the charges, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, “They targeted vulnerable women
from Venezuela, forcing them into sex work and threatening to kill their families if they didn't comply.”

In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi called Tren de Aragua “not just
a street gang” but “a highly structured terrorist organization,” adding
that the indictments and arrests “will devastate TdA’s infrastructure” in
three states.

Many of the charges brought are referred to as RICO charges, stemming from
the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

In an interview with Sinclair on Wednesday, former U.S. Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said, "RICO charges have typically been brought against mafia organizations. A RICO charge is basically saying there is a racketeering organization, in this case, this TdA gang. What it is is they've got a
criminal enterprise; they’ve got a business, but it’s not doing normal business. It’s doing business to break the law; in this case, murder,
human trafficking, all sorts of horrendous crimes."

The investigation and others connected to it have reportedly pitted New
York City officials against one another.

A New York judge this week ordered city officials to temporarily halt a
plan allowing federal immigration agents to operate within the Rikers
Island jail complex. The order followed a lawsuit from the New York City Council against Mayor Eric Adams, after he signed an Executive Order
allowing ICE agents and others "to re-establish a presence at Rikers"
after being banned from the jail in 2014. Council members called the order “part of a corrupt quid pro quo bargain” between the mayor and President
Trump.

Mayor Adams on Tuesday was unapologetic for collaborating with the White
House, insisting his actions have made the city safer.

For those who want to romanticize these characters and make it seem like
they are just here to be part of the American dream. The American dream is
not doing armed robberies. The American dream is not discharging guns. The American dream is not shooting at police officers."
"We’re not going to be a safe harbor for criminals," Adams added.

This case also involved a second indictment.

21 of the people charged are allegedly former Tren de Aragua members,
accused of forming a splinter group set up to serve as a rival to TdA.
They called the new group "Anti-Tren."

According to the indictment, "Members and associates of Anti-Tren
committed and conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit, acts of
violence, including acts involving murder and assault, to protect and to
expand Anti-Tren's criminal operations, resolve disputes within Anti-Tren,
and to retaliate against rival organizations, including Tren de Aragua."

https://thenationaldesk.com/top-videos/massive-takedown-of-venezuelan- gang-operations-pits-nyc-officials-against-one-another-tom-homan-jessica- tisch-eric-adams-tren-de-aragua-anti-tren-rico-racketeering-custody-27- criminal#

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