Tren de Aragua, ‘associates’ busted 517 times in NYC so far in 2024 as NYPD says over 200 gang members could be in city: report

The NYPD has specifically identified 41 migrant “gangbangers” who have collectively accumulated 143 arrests since the beginning of the year, according to a report by the New York Post. Nearly half of these arrests occurred in high-traffic retail areas in Midtown, including Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and Radio City Music Hall.

“If you go back two years — that’s about when we think they first started arriving — we’ve made 45% more arrests than we did two years ago,” a law enforcement source said, per the New York Post. “This is a gang that conspires to make money off of committing crimes.”

The gang’s influence reportedly extends beyond official members. An offshoot group, “Diablos de la 42,” includes members as young as 11 years old, and law enforcement has made multiple arrests involving both TdA and these affiliated groups.

Out of the 517 arrests citywide this year, 57 percent occurred in Midtown, with most migrant-related arrests involving felony charges such as robbery and grand larceny as well as assault and auto theft.

“When you add associates and co-defendants that aren’t in the [NYPD gang] database, there’s 80 more individuals who are candidates for the database, and possibly hundreds as arrest associates in other crimes,” the law enforcement source to the New York Post.

“When you factor in those associates, it’s 295 out of 517 total arrests we took in Midtown and neighboring precincts,” the source continued. “That’s TdA, [Diablos] and their associates. That’s 57% impacting crime in the 14th, 18th, 17th, 19th precincts. It’s not just one area.”