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Lt. Olivarez to Newsmax: Venezuelan Gang Gaining Foothold in US Due to Biden Border Policies

By Solange Reyner | Friday, 18 October 2024 06:12 PM EDT

President Joe Biden’s reversal of 90-plus executive orders has led to Venezuelan gang Tren D'Aragua gaining a foothold not only in Texas but the entire country, says Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Christopher Olivarez.

TdA is a Venezuelan gang that started in a prison in the state of Aragua and has since expanded into Central America and the United States, including Texas, New York, Colorado and Wisconsin.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed a proclamation on Sept. 16 that declares the gang a foreign terrorist organization.

“Now we're seeing this new category of illegal immigrant crime,” Olivarez told Newsmax TV’s “Carl Higbie: Frontline.”

“But this gang … is a very dangerous, extremely dangerous gang. And they're gaining a foothold throughout the country. We're seeing it now with all these crimes that are taking place.

“This gang is not your typical street gang. This gang has the same structure as the cartels, has the same structure as the military. They have advisors, security teams, high, you know, high level leadership in this gang,” he added.

“And they're starting to expand not only the United States, but also globally. I mean, they're also their presence is known in Peru, Chile, Canada, even Costa Rica. This gang is something that is starting to expand. And one thing that we're doing in Texas, you know, the governor made it very clear in Texas that we're going to prioritize our efforts to go after this gang, to identify them, to track them down and to get them arrested and remove them from our state. Now, I have not seen any other state other than Texas taking those actions, and that's why this is going to take a collaborative effort from other governors, other states to get involved and actually go after this gang.”