The vicious Venezuelan migrant gang Tren de Aragua is luring desperate women deep into the heart of the US, forcing them to sell their bodies on the streets of American cities to pay off exorbitant smuggling fees, a newly leaked law enforcement document obtained by The Post reveals. At least eight states have seen an explosion in migrant prostitution since the gang laid down roots in the US, with authorities in Texas, Nevada, Illinois, California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York now fighting to curtail the sex trade, the memo shows. And the victims may be operating out in the open on the streets of New York City.
On Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, sex workers and madams openly ply their trade on sidewalks. It’s called the “Market of Sweethearts” — and it’s bustling every day of the week. One suspected brothel operates openly across from two elementary schools , with parents walking their kids past the seedy joint’s hawker as they head to class.
Law enforcement sources in New York said the storefront brothels are suspected of having ties to Tren de Aragua — which recruits members and victims out of city migrant shelters. In the Big Apple, Tren de Aragua is trying to recruit foot soldiers to force women into sex trafficking — in the hopes that it will become a main source of income for the gang, according to the leaked memo. For so many women caught up in the vicious cycle of sex trafficking, the promise of a life in the US is nothing more than an inescapa.