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.”