Former Chicago gangster blames VP Harris, Dems for turf war between local gangs, Venezuela's Tren de Aragua

A former Chicago gangster sounded the alarm about Democrats' "oxymoronic" crime policies, warning Americans "should be afraid" as fears mount over a possible turf war between Venezuelan gangs and their local counterparts in the Windy City. 

Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change founder Tyrone Muhammad called out Vice President Kamala Harris during "Fox & Friends" for pivoting on her crime stance, arguing the Democrats' policies have turned Black America against the Biden-Harris administration. 

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"We just heard about a vice president who says she specialized in locking up and arresting transnational gangs, while the very party that she's a part of, the policies with the sanctuary cities and the border crisis, she supported… which is oxymoronic," Muhammad told Lawrence Jones on Tuesday. 

"At the same time, now we have to fight transnational gangs and the influx of these men who we don't know where they come [from], what crimes they committed, and the violence that they've been involved with thus far. With that being said, we are on the front line every day making sure that our communities are safe."

Vice President Kamala Harris addresses members of the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia, Sept. 17, 2024. (Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw)

Local gangs on Chicago's South Side have reportedly been battling a surge of Venezuelan migrants, including some members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang, according to the New York Post. 

With the arrival has come a rise in crime, locals told the 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.

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"It's really not about the Black community. This is just the beginning because violence anywhere is violence everywhere," Muhammad said. "Americans should be afraid that this can happen in America's cities, one of the biggest cities... one of the biggest tourist-attracting [cities] in the country, that we can watch this happen all over the country and not be outraged… It's the policies that have affected our community and has turned Black people, Black communities against the current administration."

Jones noted that Chicago has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to mitigate the migrant surge. 

Muhammad argued that "disinvestment" in minority communities that has been re-routed to fund resources for illegal immigrants is "asinine."

"The very fact that our government believe[s] with all the issues and systemic disinvestment that's happening to all these communities throughout America, that you would in our face... specifically [in] Chicago, where Black voters have voted for one party consistently and religiously, that that party would not listen to the voters or the community to say ‘us first, we should be first, put us first.’ And the very notion that anyone will have the audacity to think that a non-citizen should go before the Black community and the most impoverished communities is asinine," he argued. 

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Meanwhile, impending fears over growing violence between the transitional gangs and local gangs comes when crime is already a concern for residents. 

From August 2022 to September 2024, robbery has spiked 12%, aggravated battery surged 13% and motor vehicle theft soared 43%, according to the Chicago Police Department. 

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Chicago residents have voiced their frustrations with left-wing Mayor Brandon Johnson and city officials over the past year for spending tax dollars on the growing migrant population. 

"We're already dealing with major crime. We're already dealing with major educational issues. We're already dealing with the high murder rate. When you add individuals who are undocumented, who are coming from countries who have been let out of prison and entering into our city, it's only a matter of time before things explode," Pastor Corey Brooks, Project H.O.O.D. founder, said during "Fox & Friends First." 

"You're starting to see in different places around Chicago on the South Side, confrontations and issues arising that are only going to get worse as time goes on," he continued. 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks during a Secret Service DNC security briefing on July 25, 2024. (Vincent Alban/Getty Images)

Brooks warned the surge in crime will likely drive many voters to the polls, who are desperate for change, as Election Day nears. 

"I know a lot of individuals in swing states like Pennsylvania and Michigan are experiencing the same type of hardships where... immigration has allowed individuals to cross the border and come into the cities and cause havoc," Brooks said. "Those issues are very dear to the hearts of a lot of people. Crime and immigration and the economy are the issues that a lot of voters are concerned about."

"I have no doubt in my mind that individuals are going to vote in a direction that speaks to how they want to handle immigration," he continued. 

Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report. 

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