(The Center Square) – Members of the violent Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA), continue to expand criminal operations nationwide, including in the midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin.

In Illinois, Chicago has long been plagued with illegal border crosser crime, serving as a major hub for drug trafficking operations run by the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel and transnational criminal organizations working with street gangs, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has reported.