The New York Police Department is facing a growing challenge as Venezuelan gangs, particularly Tren de Aragua, increase their activity across New York City. Law enforcement is particularly concerned about these gangs targeting and recruiting children from migrant families residing in city shelters. These gang members, often blending into the migrant communities that have arrived in the city since 2022, pose unique difficulties for the NYPD.
“Once they commit their crimes they go back to the migrant community, where they assimilate themselves with people that are actually here obeying the laws,” stated NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. This tactic makes identification and apprehension significantly harder for law enforcement.
NYPD Focuses on Tren de Aragua Identification
Tren de Aragua has emerged as the primary Venezuelan gang operating within the city’s shelter system and engaging in child recruitment. The NYPD is actively working to identify and track members of this dangerous group.
“We have 39 members of TDA that have been identified and we have an additional four members that have been identified of a subgroup called Little Devils of 42nd Street. Those are much younger kids,” Chief Kenny explained. However, these numbers likely represent just a fraction of the gang’s presence, highlighting the difficulties in tracking these individuals.
A significant obstacle for the NYPD is the lack of prior records for many of these gang members. “We have no fingerprints on file for them. We have no photographs on file for them. We have no prior criminal history on them,” Kenny emphasized. The practice of ID swapping further complicates efforts to establish identities and track their movements upon entering the country.
These undocumented individuals, some as young as 11, are implicated in a surge of retail robberies and street crimes, often utilizing scooters for quick getaways after snatching jewelry, watches, and cellphones, sometimes at gunpoint or knifepoint. Incidents have drastically increased, from over 300 last year to more than 800 already this year. In alarming instances, they have even shot at police officers.
Despite arrests and charges for multiple offenses, a concerning pattern has emerged within the New York City judicial system. “When we do make arrests and we’re able to charge them on four, five, six incidents, when they go before a judge in New York City, and their arrest record is run, they show no prior criminal history,” Kenny noted. Subsequently, these individuals are often released on their own recognizance without bail, allowing them to return to the community.
Migrant Families’ Fear and the Shadow of Gang Tattoos
The vulnerability of migrant children to gang recruitment is a major concern for parents within these communities. Migrant mothers have expressed deep fears that their sons could be coerced into gang life.
“People have warned us to be careful with the child because they are recruiting younger children. It worries me a lot,” Airada Pereira, a migrant mother from Colombia residing in a Manhattan shelter with her 11-year-old son, Dillan Batista, shared in Spanish. Arriving last year, Pereira dedicates her time outside of volunteering at Metro-Baptist Church to safeguarding her son from gang influences.
“We are afraid he will get recruited and they will force and manipulate him to do bad things. Things that will get him into trouble,” Pereira explained, highlighting the constant anxiety faced by these families.
While not explicitly mentioned in the original article, tattoos can often serve as a visual marker for gang affiliation. Law enforcement agencies, including the NYPD, often utilize gang tattoos as one tool among many to identify and track gang members. Understanding common gang tattoos can be crucial for officers in the field. While information on specific Tren de Aragua tattoos publicly available to confirm their definitive markings is limited, general gang tattoo knowledge and intelligence gathering remain vital for the NYPD in combating gang activity. Further investigation and intelligence may reveal specific tattoo motifs or symbols used by Tren de Aragua members, which could become part of an internal NYPD guide for identification purposes.
Community Initiatives and Youth Programs as Alternatives
Recognizing the risks faced by migrant youth, community leaders are stepping up to provide positive alternatives. Power Malu, co-founder of Resources Opportunities Connections and Community, is actively involved in creating youth programs, including a soccer club, to steer children away from gang involvement.
“I absolutely know that the soccer program is important for the kids to be able to get involved with something where they feel like they belong, and they are having fun as kids, being able to support each other, build community, and stay away from the streets, and be able to not have to get into the violence and get into the gang activity,” Malu stated.
Over 60 children, aged 5-14, have enrolled in these programs, including Dillan Batista. “It’s fun because we get to eat pizza and I have so many friends and we play,” Batista shared, emphasizing the positive aspects of these initiatives. He clearly articulated his desire to avoid gang life: “I don’t want to be like them. I don’t want to be bad. I want to be good, helping the people,” Batista affirmed.
Malu stresses the urgent need for more resources and spaces to support the nearly 22,000 migrant children in city shelters, representing a significant 38% of the total migrant shelter population. “The newest New Yorkers are coming here and they don’t have any programs for them, so then they are looking to do something. They are looking for something to do. So they are easy targets,” Malu explained, highlighting the vulnerability of these underserved youth.
Expanding Gang Targets and Collaborative Law Enforcement
The threat extends beyond children; the NYPD is collaborating with federal agencies to control the spread of gang violence originating from migrant shelters and impacting city streets. Alarmingly, migrant families themselves are also becoming targets.
“What we are also seeing is the majority of the migrant community, sometimes themselves, are the victims of crimes. They are preyed upon by these gangs, and there’s a reluctance to report it sometimes because they feel that that might get them deported or that might get them in trouble with the police,” Chief Kenny revealed. This fear further complicates law enforcement efforts and allows gang activity to persist under the radar.
Venezuelan gangs are also reportedly recruiting migrants from other countries, indicating a broader network of criminal activity. It’s crucial to recognize that the vast majority of the migrant community are law-abiding individuals, and only a small fraction are involved in these crimes. The NYPD’s focus remains on targeting the criminal element while supporting and protecting the entire migrant community.
The NYPD’s ongoing efforts, in conjunction with community programs and federal partnerships, are critical to addressing the growing threat of Venezuelan gangs like Tren de Aragua and ensuring the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers, including the vulnerable migrant population. Understanding gang identification, potentially including tattoo recognition, is a crucial component of this multifaceted approach.
