The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director is reversing comments he made in December indicating members of a Venezeulan gang are operating in Tennessee cities. (Photo: Getty Images)
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director is reversing course about violent acts by a Venezuelan gang after he told the governor in a November 2024 budget that Tren de Aragua is operating in the state’s four largest cities.
In a Dec. 19 letter to state Rep. John Ray Clemmons, TBI Director David Rausch admitted the shooting of a cartel member by Tren de Aragua, which he discussed at a budget hearing, did not take place in Tennessee. He also wrote, “I never stated that there were any violent encounters that we were aware of with this gang in Tennessee.”
Yet during his presentation to Gov. Bill Lee, Rausch referred to the Venezuelan gang as a “violent” group and described how it starts with human trafficking, then moves into “organized retail theft” and the drug trade as part of a “pathway to more violence.”
The director also said the gang’s drug trade activity competes directly with cartels and that the gang put out a video showing one of the Tren de Aragua members shooting “a cartel member 31 times.” Rausch said the information was based on “trends and intel [the TBI has] on them.”
Since Rausch made the alarming statements, news organizations started looking into the gang’s activity in Tennessee. One member of the gang was arrested in Hamilton County on human trafficking charges and one Memphis in November on a federal warrant, according to reports. But the group doesn’t appear to have a strong presence in Metro Nashville or Memphis, reports show.
In his letter to Clemmons, Rausch said he isn’t seeking a “state legislative fix” to deal with the gang other than support for more operating funds. Rausch added that he is responsible for alerting elected officials and the public about safety concerns.
In response, Clemmons said Rausch’s letter sends the message he wants nothing but money from the legislature.
“He also drastically walked back his representations about the (gang’s) violent criminal activity which were clearly intended to scare the bejesus out of Tennessee families. This is odd because the TDA is a real threat to public safety if it, in fact, has as significant of a presence here as the director insinuated,” Clemmons said in a statement.
Clemmons added he believes the “hyperbolic remarks” were “choreographed” in part to “demonize” the immigrant community. He noted the governor asked only one question about the matter, displaying he showed little concern.
Rausch said in his letter the bureau found out about the Venezuelan gang presence through intelligence efforts and that media coverage has put the gang on notice that TBI is “coming after them, when they commit crime.” He declined to release sensitive information the bureau obtained.
During budget hearings, Rausch told the governor that the gang made up of “illegal individuals” is “prevalent” and “ever-present” in the state – in all major cities – after fleeing two years ago when the TBI uncovered its human trafficking operation.
Despite acknowledging the street shooting took place elsewhere, Rausch wrote that the Venezuelan group is a “very dangerous gang” that must be stopped before it gains a foothold in the state.
He also drastically walked back his representations about the (gang’s) violent criminal activity which were clearly intended to scare the bejesus out of Tennessee families.
– Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, of TBI Director David Rausch
Most of its activity has been in human trafficking, and some gang members have been arrested in Tennessee’s biggest cities on warrants from other states, according to Rausch’s letter.
He said the gang has smuggled people across the border and “abused” the visa and asylum systems. Once inside the country, the gang network moved people across the country and into Tennessee, Rausch said.
Rausch’s presentation spurred Clemmons to send a letter to the director asking several questions since he made the Venezuelan gang activity a priority in his budget request to the governor.
Clemmons, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, asked when the gang returned to Tennessee and why lawmakers belatedly learned about the public safety threat. In addition, he sought more information about the “trends and intel” Rausch said the TBI used and more specific information about the gang’s criminal activity in Tennessee’s major cities.
He also asked whether the gang’s drug trade involved fentanyl and whether the cartel member’s murder was filmed in Tennessee. Other questions dealt with whether the gang had any members in Tennessee prisons and how gang members might have gotten to Tennessee from Venezuela.
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