A rival Venezuelan gang that is taking on the vicious Tren de Aragua gang could pose a serious threat to rural communities, according to one expert.
The Anti-Tren gang surfaced earlier this year and hit the headlines last month after more than 20 alleged members of the gang were arrested in New York City by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice, according to Fox News.
Robert Charles, a former assistant Secretary of State at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, said the gang could take root in areas where law enforcement is sparse.
“I’ve read some of the public accounts that suggest that this offshoot group is trying to distinguish itself by being more violent,” Charles said. “With MS-13, they had various tests and things that they went through, and there were offshoots there that became more violent than the original group.”
Charles said Anti-Tren, and gangs like it, seek to carve out enclaves where they wield power and control.
“They are also doing violence in an environment which they’re taking advantage of people. They’re taking advantage of the homeless. They’re taking advantage of rural America,” he said.
Rural communities are often areas