A rival Venezuelan gang that is taking on the vicious Tren de Aragua gang could pose a serious threat to rural communities, according to one expert.
The Anti-Tren gang surfaced earlier this year and hit the headlines last month after more than 20 alleged members of the gang were arrested in New York City by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice, according to Fox News.
Robert Charles, a former assistant Secretary of State at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, said the gang could take root in areas where law enforcement is sparse.
“I’ve read some of the public accounts that suggest that this offshoot group is trying to distinguish itself by being more violent,” Charles said. “With MS-13, they had various tests and things that they went through, and there were offshoots there that became more violent than the original group.”
Charles said Anti-Tren, and gangs like it, seek to carve out enclaves where they wield power and control.
“They are also doing violence in an environment which they’re taking advantage of people. They’re taking advantage of the homeless. They’re taking advantage of rural America,” he said.
Rural communities are often areas of least resistance, he said.
“We don’t have the infrastructure in a very rural state to put patrols up through the northern part of the state and, frankly, to even keep drugs from coming in and the gangs from coming here,” Charles said, referring to his home state of Maine.
“Criminals are bad guys, but they are not stupid. And so what they look for is they look for opportunities to maximize their gain with the least possible risk,” he explained.
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Charles as the small group battles Tren de Aragua, from which it draws many members, authorities need to squash the gang while they can.
“I think right now their numbers are relatively modest. If you look away from it, if you pretend that it’s not important, if you appease it instead of deterring it, then absolutely it will grow. That’s just the nature of crime,” he said.
A federal indictment last month said the gang was a threat in New York City.
“Preserving and protecting the power and territory of Anti-Tren and its members and associates through acts involving murder, assault, other acts of violence, and threats of violence, including acts of violence and threats of violence directed at members and associates of Tren de Aragua,” the indictment said.
The indictment also accused Anti-Tren members of human trafficking.
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New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the Anti-Tren gang members arrested “some very, very bad people,” according to the New York Post.
“They targeted vulnerable women from Venezuela, forcing them into sex work and threatening to kill their families if they didn’t comply,” Tisch said. “These are depraved criminals … with absolutely no regard for human life.”
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