The Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) is now operating in 16 states, according to a new Homeland Security memo cited by the New York Post.

Rausch claims the gang is involved in human trafficking here in Tennessee and, based on its operations in other states, will soon expand into retail theft rings and the drug trade.

In just a few short years, the hyper-violent Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua has gone viral in 16 U.S. states and is eyeing further expansion, worried cops say. According to a report in the New York Post, Homeland Security officials were warned in an intelligence memo about the group’s rapidly expanding presence.

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a bulletin to law enforcement across D.C., Maryland and Virginia concerning an illegal Venezuelan criminal gang known as ‘Tren de Aragua’ that is growing in both size and violence across the region.