Image Credit: The White House / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
The violent Venezuelan street gang, Tren De Aragua (TdA) has become a prevalent problem in Tennessee after resurfacing in the state and committing a slew of crimes including prostitution, drug possession and sales, assault, human trafficking, and other violent crimes.
Several state officials, including Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, have tried to deny or downplay the gang’s presence despite arrests of members and reports of activities.
TBI director David Rausch also attempted recant his initial warnings about the gang’s tendencies towards violence, though he made a thorough presentation to the Governor and appeared on Senator Marsha Blackburn’s podcast, saying, “all of a sudden, now, we’ve seen in the past few months a resurgence. They are operating in our state.”
President Trump, through the signing of an executive order (EO), has now designated TdA, along with several other gangs and cartels, as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” and announced the administration’s intention to “ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States.”
The EO states the cartels “functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States. In certain portions of Mexico, they function as quasi-governmental entities, controlling nearly all aspects of society. The Cartels’ activities threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere. Their activities, proximity to, and incursions into the physical territory of the United States pose an unacceptable national security risk to the United States.”
It also specifically mentions TdA and another violent gang, MS-13, as posing parallel threats, elaborating that their, “campaigns of violence and terror in the United States and internationally are extraordinarily violent, vicious, and similarly threaten the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.”
A spokesperson for Senator Bill Hagerty offered a statement to Nashville news outlet WZTV, saying, “Senator Hagerty is grateful for President Trump’s decisive action to empower states like Tennessee and Federal law enforcement to put Americans—not cartels—first. The damage and mayhem caused by the Biden Administration’s dangerous open borders policies cannot be overstated, as Tren de Aragua and its criminal affiliates have taken advantage of Americans for the past four years. Under President Trump, their illegal presence in American cities is soon to be ended and Tennessee citizens will be safer for it.”
As mass deportations of violent criminal illegal aliens have begun nationwide, the designation of these terror organizations will help empower local law enforcement to better implement immigration policies and focus on apprehending these fierce offenders.
Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) reports 1,179 arrests and 853 detainers lodged to date, one week after President Trump declared a national emergency at the Southern border and “Border Czar” Tom Homan launched targeted operations in Chicago, Denver, and other US cities.
Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
GOOD!! If we only had shoot on sight law.