Chicagoans Warn Of Turf Wars With Violent Venezuelan Gang

Residents say they are on edge with the shadow of violent clashes between Chicago’s gangs and new arrivals of Venezuelan migrants, escalating conflicts in the city’s already-troubled neighborhoods. 

According to reports, tensions between the migrants have been growing with a number of them identifying as members of Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua (TDA).

Migrant children have been sent to cities, including Chicago, across the U.S. following the ongoing border crisis. Since 2022, some 48,000 migrants have landed in the city, many from Venezuela. The latter — the draw of getting your drink on wherever you want to and never paying taxes again in Illinois—has others a bit more concerned, particularly among some segments of Chicago’s gang population.

“When the black gangs here get fed up with the illegalities and criminal activities of these migrants or non-citizens, the city of Chicago is going to go up in flames and there will be nothing the National Guard or the government can do about it when the bloodshed hits the streets,” Tyrone Muhammad, an ex-con and former gang member, told the New York Post. “It’ll be blacks against migrants.”

The TDA has also been encroaching on gang territories in Chicago, according to residents. Compounding the issue, recipients of migrant welfare payments are serving as a catalyst for further acrimony among those who contend that those provisions ought to be earmarked for long-time downtrodden Chicago residents.

Another former gang member said to the Post: “The real issue is that America has allowed gangs to enter our country. They let terrorist groups into our country!”

Shelters are filled with TDA members and other recent arrivals that long-time Chicago residents claim are displacing them from apartments. It begins to feel like Springfield, Ohio — where reportedly Haitians are coming in and renting housing at much higher rates (subsidized by the taxpayers) and people who have lived there for decades have problems finding places they can afford.

Although the exact number of TDA members within Chicago is unknown, officials have confirmed their existence. What makes things more complicated is that U.S. officials do not get Venezuelan immigrants’ criminal histories. Without it, it becomes very hard to track those with a history of crime. It has been the complaint of inadequate sharing with law enforcement in countries like Cuba and China, which will not make the records available.

 

And the crisis is not limited to Chicago. Approximately 330,000 Venezuelans crossed the border only in 2023 and nearly a million migrants have attempted to enter the U.S. during the Biden-Harris administration, which played in favor of Tren De Aragua notorious past violence reputation that continue as AQ/SIPP gangsters are believed responsible for an increased level of criminality within our Southern Border states.

“TDA is notorious for their brutal violence and murder, and their kidnapping, extortion, bribery, and trafficking of drugs, weapons, and even humans,” Gov. Abbott said during a press conference last week.

“They’ve been linked to more than 100 law enforcement investigations across the country,” the governor continued. “They were involved in the brutal attack and assault upon New York Police Department law enforcement officers. Reports have also linked TDA to the murder of Laken Riley.”

TDA-affiliated migrants are spread farther than to just border states or major cities like Chicago. Aurora, Colorado saw reports and video of what officials say was later identified as members of TDA armed and taking over condemned buildings as well as patrolling the hallway’s apartment buildings. Although Aurora authorities have already arrested individuals they have identified as being connected to these incidents, they too say confirming a TDA link has proved difficult because of Venezuelan officials’ unwillingness to share criminal records.

As tensions continue to boil and violent turf wars loom, cities like Chicago, alongside other cities across the U.S., are preparing for the possible spillover from these migrant-fueled battles