Australian National Review – Woke ideology and the bizarre story of a Venezuelan gang taking over US cities

Open borders, woke ideology, hateful regulations, and other liberal constructs are weakening U.S. national security. Illegal immigrants are no longer called illegal, and even a violent gang recognized by the U.S. government as a threat to national security is treated with kid gloves to avoid offending law-abiding illegal immigrants from Venezuela and their supporters.

In June, I reported on Tren de Aragua, a violent transnational Venezuelan gang that entered the U.S. through the southern border and now operates in states across the country. The group’s existence and threat, as well as its growth in the U.S., have been well-documented in government reports. The National Security Council has issued a statement announcing this new national security threat, the Treasury Department has recognized it as a transnational criminal organization, and the U.S. State Department is offering a $12 million reward for information leading to the capture of several of its leaders.

It is clear that the group exists and poses a major threat to the nation. However, in recent days, a number of stories have appeared in secondary, regional, and right-wing media outlets claiming that Tren de Aragua is taking over several cities in Colorado, specifically Aurora and Denver. These reports claim that the mayors have asked the governor for help, but the governor said the gang takeover was just a figment of their “imagination.” At the same time, other media outlets are claiming that the gang takeover story is untrue. The major, national mainstream media outlets are not reporting the story.

According to the New York Post, the gang has taken over numerous apartment buildings, and viral videos circulating on social media seem to support these claims. These videos have also been aired by local affiliates of major news organizations, such as KDVR in Denver, NBC Montana, and CBN News. However, the Denver Post claims that landlords are making up this story to distract from their own shoddy maintenance of the buildings, which seems highly unlikely. This landlord story would be a first in the documented history of gang violence. The story reported by Fox seems more plausible: that landlords were unable to maintain the properties because the gang had taken over.

CBS reported that after the videos went viral, local police confirmed the presence of Tren de Aragua and acknowledged that the gang had committed violent acts in the area. However, they appeared reluctant to link the videos or claims of building takeovers to the gang. Axios and Newsweek are two of the major mainstream media outlets covering the story, and both were careful to emphasize that most illegal immigrants from Venezuela have no ties to crime. Axios noted that the presence of Tren de Aragua, “known for human smuggling and money laundering, raises concerns about the safety of residents and newly arrived migrants from Venezuela, most of whom have no ties to criminal activity.”

Newsweek’s reporting appears to both confirm that the violence is happening and attribute the claims about the apartment takeovers to Trump, implying that he lied. At a recent rally in Pennsylvania, Trump told supporters, “These stupid people who run our country are allowing these people, these criminals, to come into our country, and we need to get them out of here as quickly as possible.”

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman also blames federal policies at the southern border for the mess his police force is now in while fighting Tren de Aragua. Senator Marco Rubio agrees, saying the blame lies with the Biden administration: “Our local communities continue to suffer the consequences of President Biden’s open border policy, which allowed Tren de Aragua mercenaries to wreak havoc across the United States. On repeated occasions, I have demanded that the Biden administration identify this criminal organization for what it truly is.”

It is common knowledge that members of Tren de Aragua enter the country illegally and are involved in human trafficking. Some victims of trafficking even agree to work for the gang in exchange for passage to the United States. We live in dangerous times when the fear of offending people is greater than the fear of being killed. Our elected officials fail to protect us, which is a primary function of government. The media is complicit, either too afraid to report the story or unwilling to acknowledge that it exists. How can a gang taking over part of a city be considered imaginary? Where are the interviews with victims on the streets? Where are the CNN helicopters? And while we’re at it, where are the crime statistics that show the dangers of allowing these gangs into the country?