If sanctuary city policies continue, there will be consequences, warns a Venezuelan expert.

If sanctuary city and state policies are not abolished, the U.S. will soon face a series of targeted assassinations across the country, according to an expert on the international criminal group Tren de Aragua (TdA).

""Former Venezuelan army lieutenant colonel Jose Gustavo Arocha stated that the next step is targeted assassinations, as seen in Venezuela, Latin America, and will occur in the U.S," said Jose Gustavo Arocha."

The Tren de Aragua, or "Train from Aragua," is a large criminal and terrorist organization that began in a Venezuelan prison a decade ago. The group has expanded to several Southern American countries, including Colombia, Peru, and Chile, and is now present in 30 major U.S. cities.

Arocha, who escaped Venezuela after being jailed by Maduro for eight months, claims that TdA is a "government-backed, Maduro-regime group" created and trained by the Venezuelan government to cause unrest, violence, and division across the Western Hemisphere.

"If you don't act now, it will become more difficult to address the issue and could cause harm to U.S. society."

Recent efforts to legalize sanctuary city and sanctuary state policies have empowered TdA to commit crimes without fear of consequences.

If policies like this are permitted, TdA will spread throughout the United States like a disease, according to him.

"When I heard the 'defund the police' movement last year, I thought, 'This is going to lead to something because it's the same strategy as before.' If you don't have law enforcement, you don't have a functioning society. Without police or rule of law, these organizations can take control and do whatever they want."

Tren de Aragua’s primary targets will be law enforcement officials, including ordinary police officers, police chiefs, and sheriffs, as well as any elected officials who attempt to crack down on them, according to Arocha.

Arocha stated that TdA may also target enemies and refugees of the Maduro regime, aside from law enforcement and political leaders.

The TdA assassinations in the U.S. have commenced, as stated by Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Yurwin Salazar, a member of TdA, was accused of beating, torturing, and killing a former Venezuelan police officer named Jose Luis Sanchez Valera in Miami in November 2023. Furthermore, he was charged with stealing the former police officer's life savings.

Vaughan concurred with Arocha's view that sanctuary policies hinder efforts to combat TdA.

"The sanctuary policies must be abolished," she stated. "It is imperative that local law enforcement agencies can exchange information with ICE."

It's not a coincidence that many TDA members are in sanctuary jurisdictions like Chicago, Colorado, and New York. They know they can hide behind their sanctuary policies, which is one reason they choose these communities.

The federal government must take the lead in dismantling TdA and incorporate all aspects of government to do so, as some individual states have already taken significant steps.

"The problem of TdA is too big to solve at the local level," she stated. "To effectively eliminate TdA, we must build stronger partnerships with local law enforcement agencies, especially in areas where TdA has been active, some of which are sanctuary jurisdictions. Therefore, the political-imposed obstruction between local law enforcement and ICE must end."