Daniela De Luca, CTSC Team
Jennifer Loy, Chief Editor
Week of Monday, October 14, 2024
Gangs in New York City[1]
Claim: On October 14, 2024, the New York Post reported ongoing gang activity in New York City (NYC), continuing to label the Tren de Aragua gang as a “migrant gang.”[2] In this instance, the article claims that according to law enforcement sources, “youngsters are recruited by migrant gang members in city shelters” to “terrorize” locals and tourists in Times Square.
Facts:
Tren de Aragua is the most powerful gang that originated in Venezuela and expanded into several Latin American countries. Like other criminal networks, it exploits migration flows to carry on illicit activities transnationally, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, and smuggling.[3]
In July 2024, the US Treasury Department officially classified Tren de Aragua as a regional threat, sanctioning it for “being a foreign person that constitutes a significant transnational criminal organization.”[4] There is ongoing debate among experts and media outlets about the actual status of Tren de Aragua in the US and the methods used to link cases to the group, with limited public data currently available from law enforcement.
There is no evidence linking all Venezuelan migrants in NYC, or even in the US, as a block with the Tren de Aragua gang. Federal data or law enforcement reports do not provide evidence supporting the alleged monopolization of the Tren de Aragua gang on Venezuelans migrating to the US. Reports from the NYC Comptroller highlight the positive economic and social contributions of migrants, including Venezuelans, to the city's economy.[5]
Data indicates that the security threat deriving from criminal networks in the US, including NYC, involves both domestic and foreign actors.[6] According to the 2024 data, the number of violent gangs in the US accounts for 33,000, and 48% of violent crimes across the country are associated with American gangs.[7] The list of notorious gangs present in the NYC area includes: Bloods; Hells Angels; Crips; Latin Kings; Mac Baller Brims; Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13); Bully Gang; and Feuerkrieg Division (FKD).[8]
Alongside the expansion of gang activity, public safety in NYC has historically been threatened by the enduring presence of the 'Five Families,' also known as the “New York Mafia” or the “Italian-American Mafia."[9]
Analysis & Implications:
While criminal organizations almost certainly leverage migration for smuggling and trafficking operations, labeling an entire migrant community based on the potential activities of a few is almost certainly misleading. The use of the term “migrant gang” likely fails to acknowledge the complex social and economic factors that drive migration, likely endangering the experience of vulnerable migrants. Reports indicating overall positive contributions from migrant communities almost certainly challenge the narrative that generically labels Venezuelan migrants in NYC as gang members.
The claim that Venezuelan migrants as a group are associated with the Tren de Aragua gang likely fits into a broader narrative of disinformation inflaming public sentiment against migrant populations. Through generalization and lack of accuracy, such claims almost certainly distort the complex realities of migration and organized crime. They likely contribute to exacerbating xenophobia and fostering an unjustified fear of migrants, in this case those from Venezuela. The use of such labels can likely contribute to stigmatizing an entire population with broader social consequences, including inciting hostility, racial profiling, social alienation, and discrimination.
Overemphasis on specific foreign groups, such as Venezuelan migrants, can likely pressure law enforcement to divert attention from equally serious and wide-reaching domestic crime issues in NYC. The electoral migration rhetoric will likely distort public perception, likely causing the risks for policymakers and law enforcement to neglect domestic gangs responsible for a large percentage of violent crime. This deceptive circle will likely result in straining federal and state resources, including investigative and operations personnel.
The circle of fears and mistrust deriving from the focus on Venezuelan migrants likely undermines the credibility of police and Institutions in investigating criminal actors, regardless of race or nationality. Communities will likely begin questioning authorities’ objectivity and fairness, likely reducing crime reporting and cooperation between law enforcement and the public. The erosion of trust will likely undermine crime prevention efforts, likely diminishing citizens' awareness of organized crime in NYC.
Verdict: FALSE
[1] Criminal groups, generated by a third party image database (created by AI)
[2] NYC’s ‘sanctuary city’ status largely keeps NYPD from breaking up migrant youth gang in shelter system, New York Post, 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/10/14/us-news/sanctuary-city-status-bars-nyc-cops-from-breaking-up
[3] Tren de Aragua, InSight Crime, 2024 https://insightcrime.org/organized-crime-tren-de-aragua/
[4] Treasury Sanctions Tren de Aragua as a Transnational Criminal Organization, US Department of Treasury, July 2024, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2459
[5] Facts, Not Fear: How Welcoming Immigrants Benefits New York City, Comptroller of the City of New York, 2024, https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/facts-not-fear-how-welcoming-immigrants-new-york-city/
[6] What We Investigate–Violent gangs, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), www.fbi.gov/investigate/violentgangs
[7] Gangs by State 2024, Wolrd Population Review, 2024, https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings
[8] Members of Brooklyn-Based “Bully Gang” Convicted of Racketeering, Murder and Gang-Related Crimes, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, 2024, https://www.justice.gov/brooklyn-based; Former Godfather Of 59 Brims Gang Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, 2024, https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/; Bloods Gang Leader Sentenced to Life in Prison for Racketeering Charges, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, 2024, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/bloods-gang-leader; White Supremacist Leader Sentenced to 44 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Make Death Threats Against Brooklyn Journalist, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, 2024, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr
[9] New York Mafia: What's happening to the Five Families?, BBC, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/us