By Jorge Ventura, Rich Johnson | News Nation
It started in a prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua nearly a decade ago. Now, the gang known as “Tren de Aragua” (TDA) has expanded into what the Justice Department calls a “transnational criminal organization” with branches in most of the Western Hemisphere.
TDA figures in more than 100 police investigations around the U.S., including Texas, New York, Colorado and Wisconsin. And, according to reports, its leaders have given members the green light to open fire on U.S. law enforcement.
“This TDA is a very special threat,” said former New York State Homeland Security adviser Michael Balboni. “They’ve created a transnational drug pipeline,” he told NewsNation.