Conflicting Statements About Venezuelan Gang in Chattanooga, But DCSO Remains Alert

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

On Nov. 15, Fox News posted an interview with the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) about a dangerous Venezuelan gang’s presence in Tennessee’s cities—including Chattanooga. The gang, Tren de Aragua (TDA), drew national attention this year for its destructive takeover of several apartment complexes in Aurora, Colo.

TBI director David Rausch explained that TDA had been active in middle Tennessee two years ago but left the area. According to Rausch, the gang is back in Tennessee and has extended its human trafficking operations to Chattanooga. He added that the gang seems to be moving into other sectors like organized retail crime and drug dealing.

In the days following this report, however, the Chattanooga Police Department and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office stated that they have no evidence of the gang’s presence in Chattanooga.

Sergeant Chad Payne (public information officer) reported that the Dade County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) has not encountered any TDA members specifically, nor has the department seen bulletins from Tennessee law enforcement about TDA. Sheriff Ray Cross personally spoke with Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett who said that neither HCSO nor Chattanooga PD have had any documented encounters with TDA members.

However, on Nov. 18—just three days after Rausch’s comments and days after law enforcement said there is no known TDA presence—disruption of a sex trafficking operation in Hamilton County resulted in charges against four people, one of whom has been identified as a TDA member.

Regardless of TDA’s current whereabouts, Payne shared that Dade residents might be pleased to know that Georgia has one of the most strict and successful gang statutes in the United States.

Following Rausch’s statements, Mark Green (chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security) released a statement about TDA and the border crisis. He did not directly confirm the presence of the gang in Chattanooga, but he expressed displeasure with the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of our nation’s borders.

Green wrote: “From day one, the Biden-Harris administration willfully and intentionally threw our borders wide open, gutted interior enforcement, and signaled to the criminal cartels and transnational gangs that they would be able to take advantage of our country with impunity. Tennesseans—and our entire country—shouldn’t be forced to live in fear of heinous gangs because of this administration’s inability to secure our borders. Thanks to their policies, thousands of Border Patrol agents have been pulled away from securing the border, and ICE agents have been prevented from removing many of those here illegally, including violent criminals.

“This violent and sadistic gang, Tren de Aragua, is now operating in Tennessee and destabilizing our communities. This is the consequence of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and now-impeached DHS Secretary Mayorkas’ destructive open-borders policies. I commend the TBI for sounding the alarm as state leaders consider options to address the growing presence of Tren de Aragua in Tennessee. As Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I will enthusiastically support the incoming Trump-Vance administration’s agenda to restore order at our borders, revamp interior enforcement, and bring safety back to our communities.”

Here in Dade, the DCSO takes gang activity very seriously. Earlier this year, Sheriff Ray Cross and Major Tommy Bradford (chief deputy) took the preemptive measure of getting three officers (Payne, Lieutenant Hailey Geddie, and Corporal Mathon Sledge) certified as gang investigators.

Of gang activity in our county, Payne said, “Fortunately, we don’t see a lot of gang activity in Dade. I’m not saying it’s not here, but the majority of our encounters with gang members come from traffic stops, and they are generally on the interstate. Some street gangs we encounter (though not very often) are Ghostface Gangsters, Gangster Disciples, and Crypts.”

Motorcycle gangs have recently caused some issues. Payne said, “The Pagan Motorcycle Gang wanted to create issues with a motorcycle club at Jefferson’s that was having their own ‘bike night,’ but proactive policing over the course of a month or two seems to have remedied it. Some motorcycle gangs we do encounter are Pagans, Outlaws, and occasional other motorcycle gangs passing through.”

The Sentinel asked what Dade residents can or should do regarding TDA’s potential nearby presence. Payne said, “My advice would be to just be observant. Most gang members don’t walk around broadcasting who they affiliate with, but since DCSO deputies know what to look for, we can usually spot them without unjustly profiling people, because we are trained every year on what to look for. One of our Governor’s Initiative classes that deputies are required to take every year is gang awareness.”