EXCLUSIVE: Utah revealed as 17th state where brutal Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang is active, terrorizing immigrant community: officials

Utah State Representative Matt MacPherson, a Republican who represents the western areas of Salt Lake County, said that he was "tipped off by a constituent" that some Venezuelan residents of West Valley City had been in hiding from gang members for several weeks earlier this year. They said that other Venezuelans immigrants have been under threat from the gang as well and have been subject to extortion.

During the summer around the time of the Venezuelan elections, a number of Venezuelans in Utah gathered together to watch the results unfold in the late days of July in Herriman, Utah, per KSL. However, MacPherson, as well as another local source that wished to remain anonymous, said that after the festivities were over, many Venezuelans believed they were followed home by members of TdA.

MacPherson said one Venezuelan family in West Valley City told him that "many of them and their friends and neighbors in that [Venezuelan] community believed that they were tailed home by gang members." He added that the family said TdA was "extorting them for money, usually small amounts, $10 or $20" and has pressured immigrants in the community for protection money, saying that the gang is "protecting them from local law enforcement" and deportation.

MacPherson added that he received an update earlier in November from local police, who informed him that law enforcement has seen a "noticeable increase in the amount of threats" in his district from TdA. These threats included drug crimes, extortion, or racketeering. A law enforcement source in Utah also recently told TPM that there has been a "big surge of [TdA] in Utah" in general.

Carlos Moreno, a naturalized US citizen originally from Venezuela who was recently elected to Salt Lake County Council District 2, said that what he has seen “especially in Herriman ... is prostitution” and added that the gang has set up “a prostitution business."

In Herriman, it was previously reported that there were multiple suspects involved in a gang-related shooting with "Venezuelan groups" in September. The shooting was just confirmed to be connected to Tren de Aragua on Friday, per KUTV. Five young men have been charged in the incident.

Additionally, three members of TdA held up four people at gunpoint in Millcreek, Utah, also in Salt Lake County. The victims of the incident alleged that the suspects had been forcing them into prostitution. Another woman believed to be subject to the same treatment by the suspects was “being held at a local hotel” in West Valley by the gang members, per charging documents.

One Utah local originally from South America, who said that he has also heard about the gang’s presence in Utah and told TPM, “I lived in South America, people don't really understand how fast these people spread. It's insane." He added, “The fact that [TdA is] here and we're just finding about the ones that we can find, means that there's a lot more.”