And then we find ourselves in the middle of the conflict.

I’m going for this one heavy stealing by Peter Grant, aka Bayou Renaissance Man.

My original intention was to write about a NY Post article about Venezuelan gangs invading already occupied territory in Chicagobut Peter has already done a good job and added a few interesting tidbits.

I also don’t think local gangs are aware of the bloody history of South American gang conflict. Their “neighborhood” and their reputation won’t scare anyone who has lived on the streets of Caracas, Rio de Janeiro or other crime-ridden cities like them.

I come from a part of Caracas that the U.S. Embassy has declared a “Red Zone, Do Not Visit” for decades, even before Chavez and his communist descendants allowed the gangs to flourish. The criminals there are unlike anything your average U.S.-born American criminal has ever experienced. I guess I can define it as extraordinarily brutal, but that’s only true if you haven’t lived with it, and it’s not the norm you’ve been breathing for decades.

There is a certain detachment in the way American gangs enforce their attack on enemies, because it is based on Spray and Pray use of firearms in a Hit and Run. South American gangs do the Close and Personal thing and have no problem hanging around to make sure people know who did it, why and what happens to you if you cross them.

One of the methods of punishment/execution often used in the neighborhoods of Caracas was to find out where a target lived, visit him late at night while he and his family were asleep, seal the exits and quickly throw Molotov cocktails through the windows. Architecture plays a role in this method of killing. Wood is very expensive in Venezuela, so every house, even in the poorest neighborhoods, is built with cement or clay blocks. And because of the crime, windows and doors are covered with steel bars to keep criminals out, but the saying “If they can’t get in, you can’t get out” comes into play: they throw a few firebombs, furniture catches fire and what you get is a deadly and painful combination of oven and gas chamber. Your last moments on this planet are characterized by the feeling of choking on unpleasant fumes while your flesh burns to a crisp. And the guilty ones stand outside and watch and hear you and yours die in a horrible way, while the neighbors peer nervously from their houses, terrified of what is happening, while they praise God that it was not them.

Who do you think will have the biggest impact? Local Blood or Crip unloading a Glock with a switchblade into an unsuspecting crowd outside a bar as they run by or a group of Tren members drinking beers and cheering as they watch you stay with memaw, baby mama, the kids and the target get the arson treatment?

Another great theft by Peter:

Friends who still work in that area tell me that it is becoming a necessary security feature to screen incoming prisoners strictly for South American gang affiliation, and to keep them out of the general population if there is already a strong Crips, Bloods or Gangster Disciples presence on the premises. If members of the “wrong” gang are released in their company, bloodshed is almost assured. I will not be surprised to hear that in the not too distant future certain prisons will be “reserved” for South American gangs, and other prisons for American gangs, in an effort to prevent them from coming into contact with each other.
…
The problem is exacerbated by the relationship between certain gangs and city officials—even certain police departments. If certain gangs have any kind of relationship with the authorities, the latter can order their law enforcement agencies to crack down on certain other gangs. That in turn makes the police targets for those other gangs, and that can lead to total anarchy on the streets. (Think this can’t happen? Think again. It’s nothing new.)

Here’s a clip of CNN in Spanish about the Tocoron prison where the Tren de Aragua members “served” their sentences before it became such an embarrassment to the socialist government that they had to step in and clean it up. Of course part of the solution was to “allow them” to migrate to the US. The videos are in Spanish, but I think the language will not be a problem for the readers.

A children’s park, swimming pools, bars, a zoo, farm animals to eat in their restaurant, a bitcoin mine, tunnels to leave the prison whenever they want and to bring in ‘visitors’ of the loose female variety and even, what will surprise no one in Venezuela, more guns than the prison guards and local police had and an assortment of explosives.

If a local government here in the US is already compromised (or is suspected of being easily compromised), which way do you think they’re going to go? The ones with the money, or the ones with the money and an endless supply of what we define as unchecked brutality? How do you think they managed to get the materials and equipment to turn their prison into a fucking country club? By simply asking them to flex their muscles in the most evil way possible while passing around some cash?

If you live in each American city that already has a gang problem, prepare yourself… it’s about to get a lot worse (and more dangerous).

I agree with this prediction. The question is how to respond to this.

Tip: Everything you know about legal self-defense today doesn’t apply.