Venezuelan migrants moving into Chicago’s South Side have caught the attention of the city’s gangs, with some fearing an impending turf war between local gangs and their Venezuelan counterparts.
"When the black gangs here get fed up with the illegalities and criminal activities of these migrants or non-citizens, the city of Chicago is going to go up in flames and there will be nothing the National Guard or the government can do about it when the bloodshed hits the streets. It’ll be blacks against migrants," Tyrone Muhammad, a former Chicago gangster who did 20 years in prison and now runs a violence prevention program, said in a report for the New York Post.
The comments come as Chicago has seen an influx of Venezuelan migrants, according to the report, including members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang.
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With the arrival has come a rise in crime, locals told the New York Post, while some Venezuelan gangsters have started to encroach on the territory of the city’s local gangs.
"There’s been a lot going on with (the migrant gangs) that nobody’s even hearing about," Zacc Massie, a local Chicago gang member, told the New York Post. "They be moving in our own territory and robbing people but they don’t get arrested like we do. I actually talked to one on the translator app. He told me all the things he got going on; how they helped him get a car, an apartment, (EBT) card, all this stuff. They giving them thousands, we get maybe $400 a month. And they don’t even have Social Security numbers!"
Sources from local Chicago gangs told the New York Post that members of the Venezuelan gang are often heavily armed and have begun spilling into areas traditionally controlled by local gangs.
Local gang member Corey Rogers told the New York Post that Venezuelan gangsters will often be seen "showing the flag," a slang term for brandishing their firearms. He also showed the outlet text threads that featured local gang members threatening turf wars with the newcomer gangsters.
"What bothers me is that the Venezuelans are united," Rogers said. "The black gangs are too divided and they take each other down."
Others shared concerns about the possibility of increased violence, telling the New York Post that things had actually improved in the city before the influx of migrants.
"It’s still violent down here but it’s calmed down a lot," one gang member told the outlet. "Back in the day we’d get shot if we went over there. It’s calmed down a lot. The last thing we need are the Venezuelans."
The Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
