Notorious Venezuelan gangs are reaching out to the United States amid the Biden-Harris administration's border crisis, and experts say immigration authorities have no way to identify members of the criminal groups before they enter U.S. territory.

The gang, known as Tren de Aragua, has been making headlines in recent weeks for its criminal activities in several states, according to multiple reports, but border authorities have few tools to detect ties between Venezuelan migrants and gangs because diplomatic relations between embattled Venezuela and the United States are effectively frozen, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Because we have no connection to the Venezuelan government, there is very little vetting of Venezuelans entering the country, and the same is true for other nationalities,” Jessica Vaughn, director of policy research at the Center for Migration Studies, told DCNF. “We have no way of knowing if they've been in a Venezuelan prison. We don't know if they've lived in a third world country for years before coming to the United States. We're basically just taking their word for it.”

The hotel in El Paso, Texas, was closed on Sept. 9 following an investigation into Tren de Aragua and other gangs' use of the complex, where suspected drug use and prostitution occurred., According to Speaking to the El Paso Times, Dallas police confirmed to the DCNF that they are continuing to investigate gang activity in the area.

“We haven't really seen Tren de Aragua operating in McAllen or Del Rio or places like that,” Ammon Blair, a former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer and senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told DCNF, “but they are operating in El Paso because it's a big city and a big migration center for Venezuelans.”

In Aurora, Colorado, ten members of Tren de Aragua were identified by police on September 11 as part of an investigation into a series of crimes that occurred at an apartment building in the city. According to Reported to FOX 31. The charges include felony assault, battery, auto theft and multiple gunshots.

The property management company that manages the complex said the gang had effectively “taken over” the building. According to To the Denver Post.

The Tren de Aragua's evil presence has attracted the attention of the Biden Treasury Department, which has declared the gang an international criminal organization. Announced Tren de Aragua was sanctioned in July for its involvement in human trafficking, drug trafficking and money laundering. Tren de Aragua began as a prison gang in Venezuela's Aragua state in 2013, taking over the Tolocón prison as its base of operations and growing to around 5,000 members by 2023. According to To Insight Crime.

According to the El Paso Times, unlike other gangs, Tren de Aragua does not have standard tattoos that could help police identify its members. According to Insight Crime, the gang's main targets are Venezuelan migrants who engage in extortion, smuggling and sex trafficking to other countries, including the US.

Blair told DCNF that CBP must use Interpol data to obtain criminal records for Venezuelans because the United States does not have a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela to exchange criminal records, and CBP often has to release detainees before it can obtain criminal records from Interpol.

“Once Biden took office and proposed things like catch and release policies and temporary protected status, Venezuelans started fleeing to the United States from all other countries as well,” Blair told DCNF. “So when we receive a lot of Venezuelans at the border, we find that many of them have multiple forms of identification from multiple countries, and it's very difficult to figure out who they are.”

From fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2023, CBP saw a 421% increase in the number of Venezuelans encountered at the southern border. According to To CBP data. (Related: Migrant allegedly linked to Tren de Aragua murder charged with jewel robbery)

CBP told DCNF that the agency is stepping up gang screening efforts and that anyone deemed a threat will be prosecuted or referred for investigation as appropriate. It also pointed to the Biden Administration's efforts to reduce illegal immigration from the southern border, saying the majority of illegal immigrants at the southern border over the past three fiscal years have been removed, deported or expelled.

“They're going to be everywhere now in Venezuelan communities in the United States and in the Venezuelan diaspora,” Blair added, “and now that we've imported over 500,000 Venezuelans since Biden took office, they're going to be everywhere in those communities.”

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday Probably. He would designate Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization and bring “the full force of the government” against the gang. According to He told the Texas Tribune that the gang has been operating in the state since 2021 and has arrested more than 3,000 illegal immigrants from Venezuela since then.

“When it comes to migrants from South America and Venezuela, I think that's where they have a comparative advantage,” Zach Smith, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told DCNF, “and in the same way, I think drug trafficking is something they can take advantage of.”

In 2023, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) partnered with Peru to establish a “Transnational Crimes Investigative Unit” to combat Tren de Aragua. According to Dear Dialogo Americas, Peru is one of many South American countries involved in gang networks involved in human and drug trafficking.

“We're not policing people who come in,” Blair told the DCNF. “We're not detaining them. We have alternatives to detention, so no one is actually being screened.”

A State Department spokesperson told DCNF that the department is working nationwide to contain the gang's threat, citing the Biden administration's efforts to curb illegal border crossings. The department also said it is working with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to disrupt the gang's overseas operations and has improved screening tools.

El Paso police did not respond to DCNF's request for comment.

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