For the last year the Dallas Police Department has been investigating criminal activity committed by members of a Venezuelan gang in North Dallas, a department spokesperson told the Observer Wednesday.
According to the department, several individuals in the North Dallas area are believed to be associated with the Tren de Aragua gang, a Venezuelan criminal organization that has reportedly crept into the United States in recent months.
“Our department is collaborating with other agencies to address possible crimes linked to this and other gangs in our city,” the department said in a statement.
“It's an ongoing investigation, so I'm sure they're looking into [all crimes],” a department spokesperson added. “They're going to look into drugs, into violence, into physical incidents, everything.”
What police were not able to confirm is the credibility of a video that was posted to the social media platform X on Tuesday. The post claims that a “group of Venezuelans beat a helpless man in Dallas.”
Violent illegal alien gangs are taking over American cities. Watch as a group of Venezuelans beat a helpless man in Dallas as gunshots are fired off in the background.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 3, 2024
This is Kamala's America. pic.twitter.com/YeAerz17JP
The blurry, 23-second video, which depicts a limp man being brutally hit as gunshots are fired off camera, has been viewed nearly six million times and was posted by the far-right social media account "Libs of TikTok."
“Violent illegal alien gangs are taking over American cities,” the post reads. “This is Kamala's America.”
The video was retweeted by Austin Congressman Chip Roy, who added the caption "We must have mass deportations." The Observer asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson whether the Tren de Aragua gang poses a credible threat in North Texas, but did not receive a response.
The post seems to be capitalizing on the recent national notoriety the Tren de Aragua gang has recently received thanks to a social media frenzy in Aurora, Colorado. Last week, a video of armed men carrying weapons through an apartment complex sparked public speculation that the gang had “taken over” the Denver suburb. As in Dallas, the video was circulated by the Libs of TikTok account.
Social media posts claimed that apartment residents were being forced to make rent payments to gang members, who were engaging in looting and other criminal behavior.
While the city of Aurora has confirmed there is a “small Tren de Aragua (TdA) presence” in the region, officials said a surplus of “misleading information” mischaracterized what was an “isolated event.”
"We've been talking to the residents here and learning from them to find out what exactly is going on, and there's definitely a different picture," interim Aurora Police Chief Heather Morris said in a video shared to social media. "I'm not saying that there's not gang members that don't live in this community."
The city also confirmed that a Tren de Aragua member, Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirino, who goes by the pseudonyms “Cookie” or “Galleta,” was arrested in Aurora in July and is in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “We have made arrests. We will continue to make arrests,” the city posted to social media.
According to Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, the social media attention garnered by the video resulted in an “overwhelming” strain on the city’s systems.
"It's overwhelming our 911 system, or our emergency call center, and so it's actually hurting our ability to respond to crime," Coffman told the local NBC affiliate station 9NEWS. "I would hope people would not do that. I think we're in some sort of environment of hysteria right now over this."
Similar allegations of Venezuelan immigrants “taking over” American cities have circulated in Chicago. On Monday, Chicago Police responded to a 911 call claiming that armed Venezuelan gang members were invading a residential area. A video of the call was initially tweeted out by Libs of TikTok and retweeted by X owner Elon Musk, and has received over 35 million views since Sept. 2.
But when Chicago police arrived at the scene where 32 armed Venezuelans were alleged to be present, responding officers labeled the call with the code associated with a noise disturbance with "no police service necessary,” CPD's Department of News Affairs told NBC5 Chicago.
A Chicago Tribune photojournalist posted to social media that “no migrants were found with weapons” at the scene of the 911 call.
