“But as far as a true threshold, it’s been limited to shelters.”
Calling themselves “Los Diablos de la 42” — Spanish for “Little Devils of 42nd Street” — the crew of about 21 gang members has been busted for 50 separate incidents, and yet not one is behind bars, Savino said.
“They committed the robberies [in] all the sexy places, in and around Central Park, in and around Times Square, in and around transit,” he said. “And targeting tourists.
PHOTO: The Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown is the main intake center for migrants arriving in the Big Apple — and is the home base for a crew of Venezuelan gang members, according to police. |Helayne Seidman
“They kind of had a graduation of sorts, and a progression where originally it started as snatches and then went to strong-armed robberies, and then started brandishing knives in a pack format.”
Also worrisome for New York’s Finest is the possibility that an all-out gang war could erupt between TdA and one of the Big Apple’s most notorious gangs, the Latin Kings.
According to authorities, a dispute between the two gangs dates back several years to the alleged murder of a TdA member by a Latin King, with the feud still a sore point.
TdA, which grew out of the poverty and corruption that has long plagued Venezuela, established a criminal foothold in the five boroughs in little more than a year.
Law enforcement sources said gang members hid among the millions of asylum seekers who crossed the US border with Mexico since 2022, then scattered throughout the country.
PHOTO: Young members of the Tren de Aragua crew known as Diablos de la 42 brag about their exploits online. Obtained by the NY Post
Members are told to get distinctive tattoos that mark them as members, with the body art typically including anchors, clocks, crowns and phrases that included the word “guerrero” — which means warrior in Spanish but also pays homage to Hector “Nino” Guerrero, the leader of the gang in Venezuela.
Gang tats also tend to feature the number “23” or NBA stars Michael Jordan and LeBron James, both of whom wear the number on their jerseys, while others include images of bulls, seemingly a shout-out to the Chicago Bulls basketball team, a city where TdA has flourished, sources said.
In New York, gang members exploited the city’s migrant shelter system, running robbery crews, as well as trafficking drugs, guns and sex workers under the noses of private security guards. according to sources.
The Diablos crew out of the Roosevelt Hotel is guided by an older gangbanger, who recruits youngsters to pull off robberies before bringing back the loot — sometimes as part of an initiation into the gang, sources said.
PHOTO: Police say members of Tren de Aragua crew at the Roosevelt Hotel are as young as 11. | Obtained by the NY Post
The group’s members hang out in packs with the younger recruits, and will be there when the kids pull off a crime, perhaps steal a chain from a passerby. Punishment for failing could mean being forced to lick the floor of a city subway car or worse, Savino said.
Communication between crew members takes place online, where they brazenly post exploits, he added.
“They use group chat on their government-issued phones, so you know that that’s what you’re using. And the group app is titled according to their gang, really, and they’re using their government-issued phones.”
Recruiters also pick youngsters, who are unlikely to be charged as adults, to join their ranks.
In August, police suspected that an 11-year-old accused subway mugger from Venezuela who was living at the Roosevelt was tied to TdA.
PHOTO: Tren de Aragua gang members calling themselves ‘Los Diablos de la 42.’ | Obtained by the NY Post
